


The Fallen Nine

by ErenSkyeDandoHowes



Category: Fantasy - Fandom
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-29 23:06:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15739155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErenSkyeDandoHowes/pseuds/ErenSkyeDandoHowes
Summary: Legends of the fallen nine have been told for hundreds of years. Legends of the Nine strongest people in the known universe. Nine children aged 13 to 20.The last generation of Fallen died, Whether in battle or from natural causes, exactly 200 years ago. After that, legends turned into bedtime stories, The hope for the new protectors turning false, and peace was lost between worlds.Now, It's time. For the next generation.





	The Fallen Nine

Chapter One - Finding Locked Fallens

Antique stores have always been our favourite place to go. They are small, old shops that have jewellery and wooden carvings from years ago. We love to go and look around, though we never actually buy anything. The people who own the store have learnt all our names, knowing how old we are and everything, our ages range from thirteen to nineteen. The youngest is Connor, and the oldest is Jessica. My name is James, and i'm seventeen. The twins, Michael and Morgan, are fifteen. Bre is also seventeen, Max is fourteen, John is sixteen and Summer is fifteen.

We all go to the antique store on sundays, and we all bring a couple of pounds each.

We walk through the thin isles of the old wooden store and a small deformed star shaped necklace pendant made of Amethyst catches my eye. The others go ahead while I stop and stare at the stone, that seems to be glowing, lighting up the nearest objects to it with a faint lavender colour. The rope is a light sienna colour, plaited with a silver link and chain. With a wild guess, i assume it is made specifically for a woman, because of the stone, but gender roles amiright? I lift it off the peg it is hanging on, and it swings slightly. I can't seem to take my eyes off of it...

"James!'' Bre's voice cuts into my thoughts and I jump, dropping the necklace onto the ground. I snap my head round to look at her before scrambling to pick up charm and curling my fist around it tightly. ''What've you got there?'' she asks, walking closer to me.

''Nothing. It's nothing. Just a... necklace.'' I say quickly, hiding my hand behind my back.

''Can I see?'' she asks me, trying to grab at my hand.

''It doesn't matter, it's just an amethyst, it's not really important or special at all'' I decline, slipping it into a pocket before I smile at her and gently push past her to join the others. She would probably persist, and try to snatch it out of my pocket. That's just who she is and what she does, i'm not sure what possessed Summer to bring her along, but apparently she is nice, according to her.

I walk around the corner of another aisle with my hand in my pocket, covering the necklace and see Connor, gazing fixated at a golden wrist chain.

"See anything you like?'' I ask, snapping him out of his trance.

''Hm? Oh! Yeah, this... I don't know, bracelet? It's nice, I might buy it'' he responds, taking the chain off and tossing it up and down in his hands.

''Careful then, Mate. Don't wanna lose it, aye?'' I ask, winking at him. He smiles and pockets it before joining me to go and find the others.

We find the other six of us in another aisle all together, all holding something. ''Are we done here?'' I ask and they all look at each other before nodding.

''Yeah, I just want to buy something'' Michael says.

''Me too'' the rest of us say in unison before bursting into laughter at the coincidence.

I reach out my hand, ''Here, i'll pay for everything I bought some extra money just in case today so... I guess you can all just pay me back?'' I offer and everyone nods in agreement.

''Okay'' Max shrugs and drops his ring into my hand. It seems to send a shock up my arm as it makes contact with my hand and I jerk it back. ''What was that, James?'' he asks, confused.

''It shocked me!'' I accuse, taking a step back

''Are you sure you didn't just get pricked by the sharp edge?'' He questions, picking the silver ring up from the floor.

''Maybe?'' I say, unsure.

''Here, try again'' he says, and i hold out my hand again. He lowers in into my palm gently and again, it's like touching one of those electric fence things. And it's cold.

''Oh hell no'' I almost shout, pulling back my hand again. ''No. No that shocked me again. How are you holding that?'' I ask in disbelief

''What do you mean? It isn't even shocking me!'' he argues, holding it in his palm to prove it.

''OKayyyyy. Jess give me yours'' I say, my sight lingering on Max before it flicks to Jessica. She places the Ruby necklace in my palm, and yet another shock flashes up my arm.

''What the hell?!'' I exclaim, giving it back to her quickly. She frowns and holds it up.

As an experiment, we all hold each other's chosen purchases, each getting either an odd feeling of wanting to put it down, or a violent shock.

''I guess we're all paying for our own then...'' Connor mumbles, obviously weirded out, as we all are.

''I guess so'' Max agrees, making his way up to the counter and we all follow along behind him.

"Finally found something, yeah?'' the woman at the counter asks with a smile.

''Yeah'' we all agree. Even though she is a kind woman, she is a little bit coo-coo. Even at such a young age, in her early twenties, she still kind of seems a little... Off.

Max steps forwards and places his ring on the counter and pulls a £10 note from his pocket. She picks up the ring with a curious expression on her face, turning it in her hands.

''Curious choice, Max'' she says, and takes the note. He nods in thanks and Connor takes his place, dropping his bracelet onto the counter.

***

The long stretch of sand we walk down looks oddly empty today, and we all walk silently down the beach. All of us are so scared to put on our jewelry because of the shock all the rest of us got, so we are holding them in our hands. It takes me a few seconds to realise Max isn't walking with us anymore. I spin around to see him standing still, about five meters behind us,

"Max? What are you playing at, Mate? Let's go!'' I call out to him and his head snaps up away from the ring to me.

"I can't'' he says, confused.

"What do you mean, 'you can't'?" I ask with a nervous laugh

''I, I'm trying to but I can't move anything'' he says and I see his arms and legs almost shaking as though he was straining them.

''Okay Okay okay okay. What have we come to the conclusion of? These pieces of jewelry are either no good or all good'' Jessica says, making her way to Max, closely followed by Connor. She and Connor each take one of Max's hands, They tug him forwards gently, and he seems to fall for a brief second before he trips, and takes a few quick steps forwards and regains his balance.

''I'm okay'' he says, grinning stupidly. I shake my head and look down at the necklace in my hand. Odd. all of these are extremely odd. None of us can touch the others and yet we can touch our own. We all know we need to get rid of them all, and yet none of us seem to want too.

It took us almost three hours to decide as a group to put the jewelry on properly, and even then, everyone is a little skeptic. I can tell by the way that everybody holds or spins it in their hands for a few seconds before hovering the piece over where the jewelry belonged.

"Everyone just... stand in a circle'' I suggest, and they all shrug. "At least then, if something happens to one of us, we'll see it immediately.'' I add and everyone else gets into position.

"The worst that could happen is... well I guess the worst that could happen is that it shocks us and we drop it, nothing too bad'' Jessica says hopefully.

"Or it could kill one of u-''

"MAX!" Connor yells, interrupting him.

"I'm sorry! I'm just putting the possibility out there, we may as well not lie to each other'' Max throws back, turning on his best friend.

"It's not like a little piece of jewelry could kill any of us, Max! It's only metal and stone, yeah? Jess is right, the worst it could do is shock us'' Connor shouts

"Look, believe what you want to believe but know the possibilities, okay? You're just lying to yourself'' Max scoffs, turning away from him.

"You're just scared, Max. we all are'' Connor whispers, shifting his sight over all of us. We all nod in agreement.

"I'm not scared for me, okay? I'm scared for you, you're just a kid'' Max mutters darkly and we all flinch. Everyone, especially Max, knows Connor is about as much as a kid as Jessica is. He has seen and been through more than anyone else in our entire group. Things none of us would ever dream of experiencing.

Connor goes silent after that, and we all look at the ground awkwardly.

"As much as I wish I was, unfortunately that is not the case'' Connor returns.

"Look, let's just test the jewelry and then see what happens. Yeah?'' Jessica offers and we all agree almost instantly, wanting to get out of this awkward situation.

Everybody is nervous, and it's obvious too. We all shift around, keeping our eyes on the charms.

"I-I'm sorry for yelling before. I know how much you hate it, i'm sorry'' Max says, just as everyone seems to decide to go ahead.

"Mhmm'' Connor replies, and then looks around at everyone else.

''Look, let's just do this and get it over with'' Jessica repeats, rolling her eyes.

"Okay... okay let's do this. Three... Two... One'' I count down and as I say one, everyone puts on their various jewelry.

For a minute, nothing happens, and we all just stand there, staring at each other and waiting for something, anything to happen.

Just as Max opens his mouth to say something and he lifts his hand for a gesture, a silver beam shoots from his palm and hits a palm tree, immediately turning it to solid ice. We all stare open mouthed at the event, and Max freezes in place.

"What. was. That?!" Bre exclaims a moment later

"I have no idea'' Max replies

Nobody says anything, and we all slowly raise our hands with the charms on them, all pointing into the middle.

"Ice came out of my hand'' Max mutters, closing his eyes tightly for a moment before opening tham and shivering a little.

"How about we all point at the ground slightly so we don't hit each other, if any of us can even do it aswell'' Connor suggests, lowering his hand. We all copy him and I realise a vital piece of information

"Max what were you thinking when that happened?'' i ask and everyone looks at the blonde.

"That doesn't matter,'' he says, looking down and going slightly red.

"I think it does, it might be required to do... whatever that was'' I tell him, and everyone nods in agreement.

"B-but... Well okay. I was thinking about Connor and how i just wanted him to get that wrist chain off before something happened to him'' he gives in, glancing at Connor from the corner of his eye.

"How badly did you want the bracelet off of his wrist?" morgan asks

"Pretty bad'' Max admits and keeps his eyes off of everyone else. I realise that connor hasn't said anything for awhile, so I look over at him. He's looking down at the ground as if he didn't want to be here.

Suddenly, Connor lowers his hand, squeezes his eyes closed. The ground in front of him turns a kind of black-grey colour before a flame bursts out for a few seconds before dying down. He lets out a huge breath and opens his eyes, letting his arm fall back to his side.

Nobody says anything.

"What were yo-''

"Max.'' he says, already knowing what Morgan was going to ask. "I was thinking about a certain day when max and I were younger.''

"Oh. was it a strong... emotion? Tie?'' Morgan asks, tilting her head a tiny bit.

"Very" is all he responds with.

"Well... I guess we all need to think of a time when we felt a strong emotion. Any emotion'' I cut in. Morgan nods.

"Exactly what James said. Everyone think of that.'' Morgan agrees and everyone including myself closes their eyes.

The nine of us are quiet, all thinking hard. We all have a tendency to block out bad memories, and none of us have really had any exceptionally good ones, other than with each other. Which is what i bet all of us are thinking of.

"Come on, James. It won't be that bad! Just ask her!'' echos a memory around my head.

I close my eyes and try to imagine the day.

A playground forms in front of me, and all around me. Kind of materialises. Melts into place, or focuses, it's hard to explain. But all of a sudden, it's there.

"I can't do that!'' a familiar voice cuts through the silence. I whirl around and it feels like everything's in slow motion. Behind me, is me. Little me. Thirteen year old me.

"Why not?'' asks a young John

"She's an upper classman! She is 15! I'm thirteen!'' young me exclaims. This memory is a long time ago, three or four years. It was the day i was going to ask out a certain girl.

"Guess you didn't think this through when you decided to join in our game of truth or dare'' younger Michael and Morgan say in unison.

Behind the younger versions of my friends and I, I see a short girl with long, black hair. She wears it in a ponytail tied back with a purple hair band, obviously. I can hear her laughing with her friends, (Younger Bre and younger Summer). I almost want to smile at the memory, until i remember the rest of it.

Younger me and my friends are standing together arguing while Jessica and her friends laugh together,

"Fine! I'll do it, just watch me get turned down'' younger me says, I follow him as he walks over to a Fifteen year old Jess.

"Hey, Jessica?'' Young me asks, tapping the girl on the shoulder. She turns around with a bright smile on her face.

"Yeah?'' she asks in her high voice she had those four years ago.

"I was just wondering if you might want to... go to homecoming with me?'' Young me asks. The nervousness I felt that day seems to flow through my veins, and I twitch my fingers.

I point my palm at the sand and open my eyes, a small orb of bright purple light hovers above the ground and my mouth falls open. As soon as I lose concentration, it dissolves into midair and a kind of pixel thing is absorbed into my necklace.

"What. the. Heck!'' I exclaim loudly and everyone else claps.

Next, Bre closes her eyes and is quiet for about a minute. Then, a feeling of numbness falls over my mind. All of a sudden, Bre is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, she is funny... smart... cute and nice... she's-

I snap out of a trance as I see her open her eyes. The other five guys seem to snap out of something too, and I realise that it was Breanna doing that to us.

"What the heck was that?!" John exclaims, shaking his head as if shaking thoughts out of his mind.

"I don't know- I guess I was just trying to tempt you guys and I don't know why'' she frowns and we all grin, causing her to join us.

***

"Look everyone just do it at the same time'' I say, and we all point our hands at the sand at our feet.

I close my eyes and focus on a memory before a ball of light appears on the sand. To my left I see John form a swirling pool of water, and to his left Connor is creating a small flame. Max is freezing a ball of ice, Bre is trying to make Max tempted to her, and he is fighting her. Michael and Morgan are swirling Sand around in a small twister, and same with Summer beside them. Jessica seems to have a small streaks of light zooming around making shapes and leaving a light trail behind them.

Everyone is entranced in what they are doing until we hear distant voices, and we all snap our heads around to look at where it's coming from, making the... 'things' disappear into thin air. 

CHAPTER TWO - Don't Tell

"Hey, are you kids alright? What are you doing out here alone?'' asks a man, who is walking towards us followed by a woman and a little girl.

"Yes we're fine. We were just talking about some pretty important stuff'' Michael lies smoothly.

"Yeah, we just really needed to talk and decided this would be the best place to do it'' Morgan adds, making it as or more believable as how Michael had made it sound.

"You guys sure? We've noticed you've been down here nearly two hours...'' the Woman asks with real concern.

"Yeah. Only two or three of us really have somewhere to go back to, and even then our parents never notice. The rest of us sleep at any of their houses'' Jessica says, being entirely truthful.

Oh yeah, another thing I failed to mention. The only ones of the nine of us that have a place to go home to are Michael, Morgan and Jessica. Jessica has her own apartment and Michael and Morgan live in a house with their two little Sisters because their parents up and left. They manage the bills and rent because of the jobs they both work.

"Oh you poor children!'' The woman exclaims. I look back a Max, who has stepped in front of Connor slightly, letting his blonde hair fall over his forehead. He locks eyes with me and we both nod. We're both getting the same feel from these people.

"Why don't you all come back to our place with us? We can help you out'' the man says. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jessica grab Summers hand and brush her fingers against Bre's arm. Bre closes her eyes, and I get the feeling she's trying to use her new found power.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, I mean, we've been okay for the last few years'' Summer says, and I quickly nod in agreement.

"It would be irresponsible of us to let nine kids leave without a place to go'' the woman persuades.

"May we ask your names?'' the man asks.

"James. This is Max, Connor, Jessica, Summer, Breanna, John, Morgan and Michael.'' I say, gesturing to each of my friends.

"Last names?'' the man adds, raising his eyebrow.

"We prefer that to be kept to ourselves, if you wouldn't mind'' I tell him and he seems to visibly sigh.

Suddenly, the little girl standing beside the woman turns her head around to look at the water. The girl is around six, and is a small blonde that I swear that i've seen around when picking Morgan and Michaels sisters up from school. She takes a few steps towards the water, and the woman grabs her hand.

"No, Sarah. No swimming'' she says sternly, and the girls frowns.

"But i want to'' she whines.

I look over at Bre and see that she still has her eyes shut tightly. Is she doing this?

"I said no.'' The woman says

"I said YES!" the girl argues. I try my hardest not to laugh, and pinch my lips closed.

"Sarah, if you keep arguing we will have to go home'' Says the man

"NO! I want to go swimming!'' the girl named Sarah yells.

"That's it, come on Matt. we're going home because Sarah is being naughty.'' the woman says anger clear in her voice and the man, Matt, clenches his jaw after following them away.

As soon as they are out of sight and ear shot, everyone turns to Bre.

"Breanna! That as amazing! How did you even do that?!" Morgan exclaims, hugging her friend tightly.

Bre opens her eyes, and she seems to be a little faint. She smiles breathlessly and her cheeks are slightly pink as if she had just gotten off of a roller coaster or something.

"I thought of the ocean, and then I thought of the little girl, and it just happened! I have influence over what people want!'' she exclaims and we all smile with her

"That is amazing!'' Michael comments and we all nod in agreement.

Once we are all back in our circle, sitting this time, the sun is already starting to set.  
"So... where are you guys staying tonight?'' Jessica asks, looking at the six of us without a place to go home to.

"Me, John and Bre are staying at Michael and Morgan's" I say and Max looks over at Connor.

"Looks like we're at Jessica's'' he mumbles.

"Summer?'' Jessica asks, looking over at the fifteen year old.

"I guess i'll stay at yours. I have no work tonight anyway'' she says. In front of her, the sand is swirling around and around.

***

"What's going on in that crazy mind of yours?'' I ask Morgan, sitting next to her on the sand a little bit away from the others.

"This is all so... crazy'' She sighs, looking out over the dark water.

"Crazy, but amazing'' I say, gazing at her face. Her freckles are noticeable even in the darkness, and her red hair appears brownish. She turns her head and meets my eyes.

"I've been thinking about the... powers thing'' she says, frowning a little bit.

"Yeah? Talk to me'' I say, slinging my arm across her shoulders.

"My mom used to tell me these stories when Michael and I were little. Stories about Fallen's. They had an Element of power, or a 'Locked Fallen' which in unlocked by a piece of jewelry'' she says,

''Old jewelry'' 

CHAPTER THREE - Morgan and James

"Old Jewelry'' Morgan says. I stare open mouthed at her. She's right. All children know about the Lost Fallens, although everyone thinks they are all myths. Even I did, until now.

Everything adds up, and makes sense. We found old pieces of jewelry at an old Antique store, we all felt weird touching each other's charms, then all a sudden we could all make things appear out of our hands. Magic. Fallens.

"So, what? We are the nine Lost Fallens? What are we called then? The Fallen Nine?'' I ask her, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn't seem to make her any happier.

"James, this is serious. We are the first in almost two hundred years. You shouldn't joke around with this kind of thing, it could either give us the best life or the worst life possible. We may miss out on normal lives'' she stresses, tensing up.

"Hey hey, Morgan we'll be fine okay? We just can't tell anyone about anything. We have to be careful about how we use them and what we use them for, and we'll be just fine. Just remember that'' I tell her, hugging her tightly to my side.

"I guess I just don't want to miss out on being normal. Or having a normal life.'' she sighs, letting her head drop on my shoulder.

"I wont let that happen, Morgan'' I promise her and push her hair back over her shoulder.

We sit in silence for awhile, and then Michael walks towards us.

"Wassup guys?'' He asks, sitting on the other side of Morgan.

"Nothin' much, what about you?'' I ask him, and he slips his hand into Morgans. They link their fingers and I smile at their bond. Even though her twin brother is right beside her, she decides to cuddle up to me, I smile at the thought.

I've never really thought of Morgan as anything more than a sister or a best friend, but the thought of staying here forever sounds amazing to me.

***

Myself, Bre, John, Morgan and Michael arrive at the twins apartment around an hour later, just after the time we told the girls we would be home.

"Kylie! Hannah! We're home!'' Morgan calls as she closes the door behind us.

"We're in the kitchen!'' calls Kylie, the oldest girl at age 13. Their younger sister, Hannah, is only a few months old, seeing as their parents have only been gone about 9 months, and the baby is 10 months. They were put under so much stress at the young ages of 15 and 13.

"Hey Kylie''I greet as I follow the others into the kitchen

"Hey James'' she responds and goes back to stirring the now boiling pasta on the stove.

"Hey baby Hannah''' I coo, leaning down and kissing the small baby's head.

She yawns widely, her mouth turning into an 'O' and I laugh. "She's a little tired, i'd say'' Kylie says, and I move out of her way so she can pick the baby up from the high chair.

"I'll... go put her to bed'' she says, looking between the four of us.

I watch after her as she leaves the room, and then turn to Morgan and Michael. They all look exactly the same, red curly hair, freckles and brown eyes.

"Is she okay?'' i ask, frowning at Kylie's weird behavior.

"She doesn't like it when Michael and I stay out late'' Morgan says, shaking her head and moving to the counter. "Coffee?''

"Uh, yeah. John? Bre?'' i ask and they both nod.

A few moments later, Kylie walks back into the room and taps me on the shoulder.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?'' i ask her, turning around to face her.

"Can i talk to you and Morgan?'' she asks and i raise my eyebrows.

"Uh... sure?'' i answer. "Morgan, Kylie wants to talk to us'' i say and Morgan frowns, following us out of the room.

***

"What's up?'' Morgan asks in a hushed voice

"What's going on.'' Kylie demands, folding her arms.

"What do you mean, Kylie?'' i ask

"I could tell something went down tonight, as soon as you four walked in the door. So what was it? Something happen? Find some news about mom and dad? What?'' she asks. She has always had a knack for knowing things.

"Look, Ky. Something... happened today. I'm going to tell you, but you cannot say anything to anyone, am i clear?'' Morgan says, grabbing Kylie's shoulders.

"Okay. hit me with it'' she says

Morgan steps back and meets my eyes. I nod and we both hold out our hands, palms up.

"Three, Two...'' i take a deep breath and focus hard on a memory. "One''

As soon as the word leaves my lips, streaks of light spring from my palm and fly around my head. To my left, i see Morgan spinning sand around in a small twister.

Kylie gazes open mouthed at us, and a small smile forms on Morgan's lips. I smile at the sight. Morgan is truly beautiful.

"How are you... what?!" she asks in amazement.

"Look, that doesn't matter all you need to know is that you cannot tell anyone." Morgan demands, making the sand dissolve into thin air.

CHAPTER FOUR

''Look, that doesn't matter, all you need to know is that you cannot tell anyone'' Morgan demands, making the sand dissolve into thin air as she loses focus.

"What?! Why not?! That's amazing!'' Kylie exclaims and I cancel my focus. The light absorbs back into the amulet.

"Because if we tell people, what do you think their going to do to us? Yeah. take us away. You and Hannah would be put in a home and probably never see each other again. So just don't say anything'' Morgan insists and Kylie sighs.

"Oh... you're right actually. Sorry Ganna.'' She apologises hanging her head

"Hey, Ky, It's okay.'' Morgan says."You should go and get Bre and John settled in.'' she adds and Kylie agrees, quickly returning to the kitchen.

"Why the hell did we show her?!" Morgan exclaims, whirling around and punching the wall

"Hey hey hey! Calm down Morgan, it'll be fine! She's your sister not some government agent, you can trust her'' I tell her, grabbing her forearm and holding her firmly in front of me

"I'm trying, James! I'm trying to calm down! Money's getting tight recently, my job isn't paying me much and even though Michael's working two, he's hardly getting paid at all, we're barely paying rent, let alone power and then food for the four of us and it's just, now this is dropped on us adding more stress... I can't put the girls in a home! They're my responsibility, it would be like betraying them completely!" she whisper shouts and I grab her other arm.

I look her in the eye and she stands still breathing heavily.

I get an idea, and focus on the memory of back when I first met Morgan, at elementary school. A red tinged light flies from my amulet and flies all around us, leaving a faint glow in its wake.

"See that colour?'' i ask her seriously, holding her forearms tightly.

"Orange'' she frowns, obviously confused.

"Yes, Morgan. Orange. What colour is your hair?'' I ask her and she turns a light shade of pink.

"You used a memory... of me?'' she whispers.

"Yes. Do you remember the day we met? When we first spoke?'' I ask her and she nods. "I told you it was all gonna be okay, we would all figure everything going down out, and it would all be okay in the end'' I add.

"Oh and uh, James, This is Morgan''' Michael says, gesturing to a red head girls who looks insanely like him. "She's my favorite twin sister'' he adds and I grin at her. Wow, she's really really pretty.

"Oh, hey Morgan'' I greet, holding my hand out and she shakes it cautiously. "Uh, Michael told me everything about stuff going on with you guys and your parents'' I whisper to her and her smile fell from her face.

"I just thought i'd say that I know it's all going to be okay in end, I will help you guys get through it. I know it'll all be okay''

A tear runs down Morgans cheek and I release one of her arms to wipe it away.

"Hey, it's okay'' I say, releasing my iron grip on her arms and taking her hands into mine instead. "I still stand by what I said. I'll help you, I promise'' I say and she shakes her head slowly.

"I can't take anything from you... you don't even have a home, James." Morgan argues and I squeeze my eyes closed before opening them again slowly.

"Look, Morgan, we'll talk about this another time. For now, just calm down and we'll go back to the others and talk about it tomorrow night'' I say, she nods and looks into my eyes, her eyes are shining with a hope I haven't seen from her in a while, she takes a shaky breath. I hug her tightly for a few seconds before I lightly take her fingers between my fingers and thumb and lead her back into the kitchen with the others.

"I'm going to bed now, guys. I have to be up at six for school so i'm waking you all up at seven. Michael it's your night for Hannah'' Kylie says, disappearing upstairs to her bedroom. Michael, Morgan and Hannah share a bedroom and there is a spare room for any of the six of us who stay here tonight.

''Goodnight Kylie'' we all call.

Around ten minutes later, we're all sitting on the couches, messing with our various Fallens. I have light strips swirling around my fingers and i smile at the new memories i have found to fuel the power.

I catch eyes with Morgan from across the room where she is sitting alone on their arm chair. I pat the empty spot on the couch beside me and she gets up without a word.

She sits down next to me and leans into my side.

"I'm telling you, everything will be fine''

***

The sun shines into my eyes as a wake up call the next morning, just as i hear a loud knock on the door of the bedroom we're sleeping in.

"Get up!" she yells, making me jump.

"Jesus, calm down!" Bre yells back, earning a groan from John

"Goddamnit Woman stop yelling!" John exclaims and i laugh tiredly. We're all like this is in the morning. Every single morning, it's like a pattern.

"Breakfast?'' Michael asks as the three of us walk into the room.

"How the hell are you already awake and dressed?!" i exclaim and he grins.

"Breakfast?'' he repeats and i shake my head with a grin.

"Nah, mate i'll eat later'' i say and John and Bre agree with me.

A very tired looking Morgan walks into the room pulling a brush through her hair, and smiles a half smile at me.

"Morning'' she greets, grabbing a Ribena from the fridge.

"I think i'm going to head out soon'' i say, stretching my arms out.

"Where're you heading?'' Morgan asks

"The beach'' i say, and she nods.

She knows why.

CHAPTER FIVE

The beach is cold, and the wind blew hard. As if it couldn't get any worse, I had left my jacket at the twins house. I don't feel like going back, so I just fold my arms and tough it out.

I kick at the sand and look at the ground as I walk down the narrow stretch of beach, making my way under the pier where I wanted to try something.

"James!" I hear a voice call out, but not one that I recognise very much.

I stop and turn around, meeting eyes with a darker skined woman with hair that falls far past her hips.

"Oh, Hi Amalie, what're you doing here?" I ask her, as she runs up to me, out of breath.

"I came to warn you, about the jewelry you and your friends bought!'' she says, and I frown at her.

"Yes, what about them?'' I question a bit defensively, and she looks down at the ground.

"My mother recommends that you return them, or just get rid of them. She says that their feel isn't very good and she sent me to tell you'' she says and I look away from her over the water.

"Yeah, we figured that out pretty quick'' I mutter and she frowns

"How?" she asks with a frown. Her dark eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Nevermind, but we're not returning them. Thanks for the fair warning'' I say, taking a few steps back before spinning around and walking off in the opposite direction.

She doesn't move, but instead I hear her yell out, "It makes you do strange things, doesn't it!"

I ignore her and keep walking, not willing to let her know about anything.

"It unlocked your fallen, didn't it!" she shouts, and this pulls me up. I whirl around and run to her, grabbing her arm.

"Shut up! You want all of LA knowing that? No!" I exclaim with wide eyes, and she presses to her lips into a line.

"Sorry" she apologised, and I let go of her arm.

"Besides, so what if it did? Doesn't matter to you if it did." I add weakly and she smiles a little bit. 

"My great grandmother is 95, when she was a kid she worked as a caregiver in an old person's home during the war. She met a woman there, who was very old, almost a hundred. The woman's name was Elizabeth, and she was a fallen. She was a fallen of Light. Four of them died in battle, and four had already died of natural causes. The Four who died in the battle, were only 26, 24, 23, and 28 when they died. My mother told me to warn you about that, how if you are not trained properly then you should meet the same end'' she explains, and I listen, intrigued since she mentioned the fallen of light.

"Its not like there's anyone who can train us, Amalie, there's nothing we can do about that'' I say and a small smile appears on her face.

"Call your friends. Now.'' she demands and confused I pull my phone out of my pocket.

Morgan answers after only one ring.

"Hello?'' she answers and I get straight to the point.

"Get everyone and come to the beach'' I tell her and she back tracks

"Of course, i'll get Jessica, Summer and Max and Connor. James, what's going on?'' she asks in concern and I brush her off.

"Everything's fine, just get them and come under the pier'' I say and hang up.

"Let's go" I say to Amalie and we start running towards the area beneath the pier.

The other eight arrive around ten minutes later and they all have their poker faces on, when they know something's wrong but they'll wait for me to say something before asking.

"Amalie's great grandmother knew a fallen when she was a girl." I say and they all immediately look taken aback.

"And?" Max asks, stepping in front of Connor slightly.

"And, the other eight fallens died. Four of natural causes... four in battle'' I say and Summer gasps

"So you're saying...''

"Yes, i'm saying that any of u- you could die at any moment if you guys get attacked by surprise. There are dark fallens out there, and yes, they could be anyone." Amalie interrupts summer and I purse my lips.

"Amalie says that she knows someone who can train us'' I say, and everyone frowns.

Amalie takes a step forwards, and closes her eyes while holding out her hand palm up. She starts speaking very quickly in spanish. Everyone takes a step back, and Max pushes Connor almost all the way behind him, just like how Jess pulls Bre and Summer behind her. I grab Morgan and tug her behind me and John covers Michael.

Almost a minute later, Amalie opens her eyes and smiles genuinely, looking at her hand as if she was waiting for something.  
"Amalie, what did you just do?" I ask her, concern colouring my tone.

"I called upon your tutor" she says, and a shimmering gold liquid spills from the centre of her palm onto the ground. Everyone takes an immediate step back, and to my surprise, Max hovers his hand palm down above the ground where a block of ice raises a mere millimeter off of the ground.

The gold liquid takes a form, and raises almost six feet off of the ground.

Golden hair falls long past the golden womans hips, and a shimmering dress flows in the early morning wind as her facial features form.

She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, second only to one.

As soon as the womans eyes land on the ten of us standing here, she takes on a very concerned expression.

"Oh! Children, is anyone hurt?" she exclaims, swooping to brush each of our arms. He voice tinkled sweetly like bells

"No, my lady. We call upon you for your wisdom, not your skill'' Amalie says, bowing her head slightly.

"Ah, Amalie. My sister tells me off you. The great Andromeda Jose's great grandaughter. What may I do for you, child?'' she asks and Amalie's face breaks into a grin.

"The next generation of Fallen's have awakened'' she whispers, gesturing around to myself and my eight friends on the beach.

***

"The next generation of Fallen's have awakened'' Amalie whispers, and I look at her in shock. She's telling this to some woman who just formed from liquid gold?! Is she crazy?!

"Amalie, i don't think that we sho-''

"Yes! Finally! I've been waiting two hundred years for this!'' she exclaims, clasping her hands together. "I must know your names'' she insists and I shrug.

"My name is James, this is Morgan, Michael, John, Bre, Jessica, Summer, Max and Connor." I say and she tries to suppress a smile.

"Light, Earth Twins, Water, Temptation, Magic, Telekinesis, Ice and Fire'' she coos and we all nod as she points to us. "My name, is Elizabeth Jackson. I am the previous fallen of Temptations. I shall take you to meet the others,..." she offers, and holds out her hand.

I look around at everyone, and then Jess steps forwards and places her hand on top of Elizabeth's.  
"What've we got to loose?'' she asks and I shrug, placing my hand on top of hers. Straight away, Morgan puts her's on mine, then Michael, John, Bre, Connor, Max and Summer.

"You too, Amalie'' Elizabeth says and Amalie adds her hand to the pile.

The beach scene moves, shifts and dissolves around us until a new world forms around us. The room we are in has tall pillars made of an off white stone, and Marble floors patterned with grey streaks.

"Woah..." Morgan whispers, looking around.

"Welcome, to my home, the home of Fallen's." she says, gesturing to the room around her. Her golden hair shimmers in the white light and she walks towards a huge archway, gesturing for us to follow.

Max immediately places his hand on the small of Connor's back and leads him forwards. Jessica grabs Bre and Summers hands and go along with them, closely followed by John, Bre, Morgan, Michael and myself.

So this is where our adventure begins...

CHAPTER SIX

"The next generation of Fallen's have awakened'' Amalie whispers, and I look at her in shock. She's telling this to some woman who just formed from liquid gold?! Is she crazy?!

"Amalie, I don't think that we sho-''

"Yes! Finally! I've been waiting two hundred years for this!'' she exclaims, clasping her hands together. "I must know your names'' she insists and I shrug.

"My name is James, this is Morgan, Michael, John, Bre, Jessica, Summer, Max and Connor." I say and she tries to suppress a smile.

"Light, Earth Twins, Water, Temptation, Magic, Telekinesis, Ice and Fire'' she coos and we all nod as she points to us. "My name, is Elizabeth Jackson. I am the previous fallen of Temptations. I shall take you to meet the others,..." she offers, and holds out her hand.

I look around at everyone, and then Jess steps forwards and places her hand on top of Elizabeth's.  
"What've we got to loose?'' she asks and I shrug, placing my hand on top of hers. Straight away, Morgan puts her's on mine, then Michael, John, Bre, Connor, Max and Summer.

"You too, Amalie'' Elizabeth says and Amalie adds her hand to the pile.

The beach scene moves, shifts and dissolves around us until a new world forms around us. The room we are in has tall pillars made of an off white stone, and Marble floors patterned with grey streaks.

"Woah..." Morgan whispers, looking around.

"Welcome, to my home, the home of Fallen's." she says, gesturing to the room around her. Her golden hair shimmers in the white light and she walks towards a huge archway, gesturing for us to follow.

Max immediately places his hand on the small of Connor's back and leads him forwards. Jessica grabs Bre and Summers hands and go along with them, closely followed by John, Bre, Morgan, Michael and myself.

So this is where our adventure begins...

***

So this is where our adventure begins...

"You have a choice, you know. You can stay here, and be trained, or you can go back home to your families, I'm not going to stop you from leaving if you wish to'' she grants us

"Thank you, Ms. Jackson, but I think iI speak for all of us when I say that we are better off staying here to be trained. Not a single one of us have anything to go back to, other than Amalie'' Jessica says, bowing slightly.

"Ah, just as myself and my friends were when we were children" Elizabeth says, "And call me Beth, please'' she adds

"Beth'' Jessica nods.

***

"This is the training room. It has been empty for a long time, obviously but now we have a use for it!" she says, leading us to the middle of the room. "Come out, my friends, our guests are here to greet you!" Beth calls and I shit you not, silver formations come out of the walls. The freaking walls.

The first two to come near us, are a pair of girls, with short cropped hair and identical facial features. The one on the right reaches out her hand, her palm facing towards Morgan, and a silvers stream shoots out and caresses her cheek. With a flick of my wrist, a purple mist swipes through the stream, making it retreat. The girl who sent it frowns and I smirk at her.

By the time we're finished our little exchanged, the other five forms make their way over.

One comes to stand to stand in front of me, and I meet his eyes.

"Hi" I greet, trying to show what confidence i had.

"Hello, My name is Harry" he greets, and holds his hand out.

"My name is James" I say, taking his hand and shaking it. I was expecting his skin to be cold, but it was just like i was shaking a humans hand.

"You are a fallen of light, are you not?'' he asks and I nod. I swirl my fingers around a little bit, and a light purple-lilac glowing mist forms around them. He smiles softly at me. He mimicks my movements, only a blue mist forms instead.  
"Me too"

I look over to my left, to see Michael standing protectivly with Morgan with the two idenctical twins.

"We are Fallen's of earth too. It must be a twin thing'' Morgan says, obviously trying to show trust and friendlyness.

I reach over a tap her arm, "Can I talk to you?'' I ask her quietly and she nods.

"I'll be back. Behave, Michael" she says, and then she follows me out of earshot from the others.

"What are we even doing here, Morgan?'' I whisper, and she looks around.

"You know what happened to half the previous Fallen's, what if that happeneds to us? What if Bre dies? Or John? Jess? Summer? Connor? Max? Michael? What if you get killed, James? We need to be trained for.... Whatever we're facing out there'' she says and I look down at the ground.

"Look, Morgan, I understand that, but what if we just... got rid of the jewelry?'' I ask her, the words tumbling out of my mouth.

"...James? What is wrong with you? Just yesterday you were telling me that we would work things out, that these are a blessing" she says, taking a step away from me.

"No, not Morgan that's, not it. I was just... it was a thought in passing, you know I- I, don't really want to get rid of them. I don't really know what I want right now, I don't know what to expect out there, it could be anything. We don't know who it could be either. It could be anyone-'' I'm inturupted by a very loud alarm going off.

"Everyone, to me!" Beth yells and I grab Morgan, running towards everyone else. As soon as I reach them I do a head count. 2... 4... 6... 8... wait. Wait... "Wait!" I yell, catching everyone's attention "Where is Bre?!" I shout and I see the dread grow on everyone elses faces.

"She was right here!" John stresses, the horror in his eyes very obvious.

"Bre! Breanna! Where the hell are you?!" Summer begins shouting years in her eyes, and everyone begins shouting along with her. "Breanna! Bre!''

We all search the room top to bottom, even Beth, Harry and the other silvers helping us. We check behind things, under things, on top of things, the silvers check all the other rooms, "She's gone!" Amalie yells.

I whirl around to check more places and I see John collapsed in on himself, his head in his hands.

"John! John, what's going on?!" I ask him, crouching beside him.

"Stay back!" I hear Beth yell at me, and I stand up

"But he's hurt!'' I snap

"No he isn't...'' Amalie says and Beth nods slowly.

Blue light spins around and around John, and I go to help him, but Michael grabs me, holding me back. "Trust Beth, James"

John stands up, his pupils so dialated that both his eyes are completely black. He actually scares me, and he never has before.

"Ah, Elizabeth Jackson. You seem so tense, that is not a way you treat an old friend...'' says a deep, intimidating voice that comes from John's mouth.

"I was a fool to trust you, Jose. All you did was use me'' Beth says calmly.

"Who are these children...?'' Jose says and the body of John takes a step forwards.

"Enough of the small talk, Jose. where is the girl?'' says Harry as he steps forwards, flanked by two more Silvers.

"Ah, Yes, the real reason i'm here. The girl, the one with the very strong Aura. I think she will make a very Tempting addition to my army, don't you?'' Jose taunts

"She is barely a woman, Jose, give her back." Beth pleads, taking a small step forwards which is mimicked by Myself and Michael.

"Give our sister back, whoever you are'' I demand

"James, stand down'' Beth instructs

"Ah, yes. James. Of course, I should have known you would stand up for her, she has been calling for you the last few minutes, you know? Must be the leader. How rude of me to not to introduce myself! My name is Jose. But you can call me your worst nightmare'' he says darkly, and it seems like the edges of the room darken and the stain spreads across the Marble, and onto the floor.

I take a few steps back, but then I remember... I'm the creator of Light.

I hold my hands out with my palms facing the ground and I focus on what the room looked like before.

"If you can't beat him, join him'' I hear a familiar voice say. I snap my eyes open and completely loose my concentration.

A familiar short brunette struts forwards, her eyes black like Johns.

Behind her, is another Familiar person....

"Nick?"

CHAPTER SEVEN

"...Nick?'' I whisper, and I see Max take a brisk step forwards. "Max, don't!" I shout, just as he throws one of his hands out with a yell, and a sharp streak of Ice flies towards Breanna and Nick. Before I can do anything, a square piece of rock blocks its path, and I see Morgan drop her hand down to her side. I nod at her and look back towards the two brunettes.

"Breanna!" I yell at her and her face turns to a scowl.

"Have fuuun~" Jose taunts, before Johns body collapses back onto the ground. Two silvers collect him up and carry him off.

"Breanna!" I repeat, locking eyes with her.

"Don't listen to him, Sweet~" Nick says in a sickly sweet voice, brushing her hair back from her neck.

"Nick, don't act you don't remember us!" Max shouts as loud as he can, struggling to break free of Michael grip. I flick my wrist and purple ropes wrap around him tightly. "Nick!!" he screams.

"Oh, Max, I remember you alright. But you're the enemy now...'' Nick says, a hint of genuine disappointment in his tone.

"We don't have to be the enemy, Nick!" I try to tell him.

"Now...'' Nick murmers to Bre and she closes her eyes.

All of a sudden, I feel a sharp pain in my side, and I stumble a little. I turn to see Morgan poised as if she was going to hit me,

"Morgan? Snap out of it!" I plead, dodging her hits.

"Breanna! Stop it!" Michael demands. Morgan lands another punch on me, this time on my shoulder.

"Breanna!" Beth tries, but she is just ignored, like we were.

"Breanna! Listen to me! Are you listening?!" I demand from her, dodging more and more of Morgan's hits which are getting weaker and weaker. Breanna's face contorts,

"John is hurt! Did you not see him?! Jose isn't the good guy here! He seriously hurt John!" I yell out, and her lips part slightly. She is breathing heavily, trying her hardest to keep Morgan under control.

"Do you not care?! Do you not care that your best firend could be dying right now?!" Max screams out and her eyes twitch.

"You promised me you wouldn't lay a finger on him..." she whispers to Nick

"They're the bad ones, Bre, they deserve everything they get'' Nick insists

"You promised me, you would lay a finger on him" she repeats louder, gritting her teeth.

"Sometimes the boss makes promises he can't keep, Bre. I only want what's best for my little princess..." he murmers, touching his fingers to her cheek.

"My. Name. Is. Breanna. And I am not your Princess!" She screams, opening her eyes and whirling around to throw a punch at Nick. Her fists conects with his head, and the darkness of the room slowly subsides as he falls to the ground.

The blackness of her eyes slowly melts away, falling like black tears down her cheeks, until her familiar orange eyes are visible.

Morgan stops throwing punches, and instead, backs away. "Oh my god... I don't... James I'm..." she mumbles, staring at me with my arms wrapped tightly around my side.

"Hey, don't worry about it'' I wince, and lick my lip where I feel it has split.

"Where is John?!" Bre exclaims and Elizabeth takes her hand, leading her out of the room.

"James are you okay!?'' Morgan asks urgently, crouching down beside me.

"I'm, Fine" I say, and try to stand up before Morgan pushes me back down. "No, don't move... i'll get a Silver'' she says and runs off towards one of the seven silvers.

I lay back onto the ground and wince as the floor presses against my bruised ribs. I'll give Morgan one thing, she can really pack a punch.

A few moments later, Morgan returns with a Silver, who kneels beside me and presses her palms against my side. I wince and try to move away, but Morgan holds me down,  
"No, James, You have to let it heal." she tells me and I squeeze my eyes closed. The pain in my side increases steadily and I cry out a few times.

Suddenly, the pain subsides altogether and I let out the breath I was holding.

"Better?'' the Silver asks me softly and I nod, not opening my eyes.

"What's your name?" I ask her, and she smiles softly

"My name is Agatha, and I'm a Fallen of Magic'' She says, and Jessica's face pops into my head.

"I have to get up" I groan, trying to sit up. Morgan pushes me back down again and the Silver named Agatha places a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him up child, he is strong" she says and Morgan hesitates before letting me go. She stands up and holds out a hand.

"At least let me help you" she offers and I smirk, taking her hand and letting her help me up.

"Obviously, I can't do everything on my own, it's not like I'm seventeen or anything"

CHAPTER EIGHT

"So, we have three small, what would you call them? Cottages?" Beth says, leading us down a winding road made of pale stones.

"You could call them that i suppose'' Jessica says, looking over at the three small buildings.

"There are three rooms in each, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a den." Beth tells us, stopping in front of the first.

"So, it's up to you who you share with, who stays where and whether you all decide to stay in one. A Silver will be here to collect you at supper'' she says and then leave.

"Well i mean, since John is still in the infirmary, i guess that one house will only have two'' I say as the golden woman disappears around a corner.

"I want to be with John" Says Bre, obviously feeling bad for what she did this morning.

"Me too" adds Michael and i nod.

"I guess you guys can have this one then?'' i offer and they shrug. Bre is the first to open the door, and then Michael follows her.

The other six of us make our way to the second house.

"I want to share with Max'' connor says simply, and Max smiles minutely.

"Then i guess i will stay with them?'' Summer shrugs and they all go inside.

"Look like it's us three then" Jessica says, leading us to the last of the three.

The houses are all the same building, but divided by a wall through each. They are two stories, and have very nice gardens out the front.

"Wow, they sure know how to present something nicely'' Morgan comments, and we follow her up the garden path to the wooden front door. She pushes it open to find it unlocked, and i am amazed at how beautiful it is.

"Cottage my ass'' i mutter and step in. the floors are classic wood, until it reaches a small corner of what i can only assume is the Den, where two light grey couches and a white beanbag are set out. The carpet is darkish grey, and the walls are off white.

"I guess this is the living room? Oh, sorry, the Den'' Jessica jokes, making morgan and i laugh.

We walk further through the house and come across an archway, through which is a small kitchenette and a dining room table complete with a fruit bowl in the centre with perfect red apples in it.

"They really don't forget anything!" Morgan says and i nod in agreement. The kitchen is nicer than anything i have ever seen, and the floors are marble. At the very back of the kitchen, is a door. I move towards it and open it to reveal a reasonably huge backyard with extremely green grass and a garden shed at the back. There is a fence on all three sides and it is beautiful.

I close it again and to my right is a hallway with two doors.

"I guess this is a bedroom? And a bathroom?'' i ask and push open the first door. There is a double bed, made with perfect white sheets, a dresser and a wardrobe. "Wow" i mutter.

"I've got dibs on this room!" Jess says, skipping past me and flopping onto the bed.

"Okay then, me and Morgan will go see upstairs" i say and close the door. I sheck the other door, and sure enough, it is a bathroom.

"I found the stairs!" morgan calls from the Den and i find her standing in front of an open door, pointing upwards.

"Ah yes, i'm glad you needed to show my dumb ass where the very obvious and conspicuous door was. We're upstairs bedroom wise'' i tell her and roll my eyes, following her up the narrow staircase. The next floor is basically the exact layout of the lower floor, but without the den. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a small room that could almost be used as an office, not that any of us wn a computer or anything of the sorts. We have never been able to afford it anyway, not with the jobs we worked. And then it hits me.

"Morgan, Your sisters'' i say and she slowly turns to me with a look of horror on her face.

"Oh god... we have to go back! We have to go and see Beth and ask her to take us back!" she says immediately, running back down the stairs with me close behind. "Where did beth say that she would be if we needed her? I need to go now. I can't stay here while Kylie and Hannah are back on Earth.'' she frets.

"We need to go back to them, you'll come with me... right?'' she asks me and i hesitate. "Fine. I'll go alone" she says, a look of hurt spreading over her face.

"Morgan just... wait. We can figure something out. maybe they can come back here with us and then everything will go along as we planned for it to be. It's not as if Beth won't let them, they are family and they're just kids. They can't take care of themselves'' I try to persuade her, and she seems to be a little intrigued. "they don't have to train with us, but they can be here at least. The have schools here, we say them on the way with Beth. We need to be trained, Morgan. You said it yourself'' i say and she freezes with her hand on the front door handle. 

"you're right... i'm sorry. We need to go and find Elizabeth though'' 

CHAPTER NINE

"you're right, i'm sorry. We need to find Elizabeth though, will you help?'' she asks me urgently.

"Of course i will, what do you think i'm gonna do otherwise? I would just worry about you constantly for the entire time you're gone'' I tell her, and her face breaks into a soft smile.

"Thank you, James. Seriously'' she says and all but flies from the flat. I follow her, running at top speed past all the shops and stores, even the three schools.

We make it back to the hug training room, where Beth said she would be at all times. Her quarters are above the room where we encountered Jose for the first time, and beside where John is being held in the infirmary. Held isn't really the right word for it, but it is the only word i can think of.

We run into the huge room where it has been completely cleared of darkness, and Silvers walk around aimlessly.

"Elizabeth! Beth!" Morgan calls out loudly, causing a few of the Silvers to look in our direction before looking away or at the ground again.

Immediately, Beth appears at the top of the huge staircase and glides down elegantly, a worried look on her face. "Yes, Children?'' she asks urgently and comes to a graceful stop in front of us.

"We need to know if we could have two more people join us. And go to the school. They are my sisters, and if they cannot come here then i will go back there'' Morgan tells her

''If She's leaving i'm leaving'' i add, and Morgan shoots me a thank-you glance from the corner of her eyes.

"Of coarse Children. They can be brought here to live with you. I'm sure one of you would be delighted to give up a room to share with someone else, just for the two young children. I need you two to join hands'' she says, and holds out her hand palm down.

I grab Morgans hand and then there is a breaf sensation of travel sickness, before a familiar scene of a beach forms in front of us. The sun is going down and Beth is nowhere to be seen.

"Lets go'' Morgan says immediately, as soon as our feet hit the ground. She pulls me along by my hand along the streets and to her apartment building. We race up the stairs and i tug her to a stop when we reach her door.

"What are we supposed to say to Kylie?'' i ask and she freezes with her hand on the handle.

"She never liked this school anyway'' she mumbles and pushes the door open. "Kylie!" she shouts.

"Morgan! You're home early... i- is everything okay?'' she asks, walking into the living room with Hannah on her hip.

"No time to explain, back your bags we need to leave'' Morgan demands, taking the baby from her arms. Kylie takes on her poker face and disappears into her bedroom to pack up.

I follow Morgan to Hannah's room as she packs and packs baby stuff, nappies, clothing, etc. When Kylie reappears, she pulls me to the side of the room.

"What's going on, James?" she demands from me and i put on a straight face.

"There isn't any time to tell you everything that has happened in the past five or six hours. You'll see when we get there'' i tell her

"When we get where?'' she questions

''There'' i can't help cracking a smirk. Oh hw surprised she will be.

***

Morgan wraps her coat tighter around Hannah and i place my hand on Kylie's back to lead her. We arrive under the pier and Kylie frowns at us.

Morgan catches my eye and we nod as we hold out our hands, palm up.

We both recite the chant the Beth taught us, and gold spills from our palms and onto the ground. Within seconds, Elizabeth is standing in front of us.

And without needing to be told, I take morgan and Kylie's hand. Another travelling sensation, and we reappear in the training room.

"What... i... where are we?!" Kylie exclaims.

"There'' i whisper and she stares wide eyed at me.

"Come on, let's go to the house'' Morgan says, nodding in thanks to Elizabeth who bows her head and makes her way back to her room. We exit the training hall, and walk down the cobbled road of the town.

"That's your new school, Ky'' Morgan says, pointing at the highschool with children ranging from her age to Jessica's age. It will also be mine, and the other eight of our schools. The children are not human, though classed as such. They will be bronze bloods, half Human half Silver.

We arrive at our house roughly five minutes later, and push open the front door to see a frantic Jessica pacing the living room.

"There you are! I had no idea where you ha- oh'' she cuts herself off when she sees Hannah and Kylie. "I'm going to cook dinner, turns out they stocked the house with food as well. They also use human money here, and human jobs, schools, services, etc. i'm happy about that. It's like living in another world, but not.'' Jessica says, walking back into the kitchen.

"We'll show you your room'' i say, leading the other three of them upstairs. I decide to give up my room for the two kids, since i'm sure Morgan wouldn't mind me moving a couch from the Den into her room to sleep on. I push open my old bedroom door, and Kylie stares open mouthed at the huge room.

"You take Hannah downstairs and get Jessica to show you around the rest of the house, and we'll move this around to suit the two of you'' Morgan says, giving the baby to Kylie who goes back the way we came.

"So obviously, Kylie can have the double bed, but we'll push it against the far wall under the window, because its only hers. BUT, we'll have to move the chest of drawers out of the way, so lets do that first.'' she instructs and i follow her orders.

Since the chest of drawers are empty, we move it easily out of the way.  
"The real question is, how heavy is the bed?'' i question and she rolls her eyes.

"You forget the earth includes wood, didn't you?'' she scoffs and with a flick of her wrist, the bed moves smoothly across the white carpets, bumping only lightly against the wall before coming to a stop.

"Right'' i nod and she laughs, causing me to join in. ''Right now we need to go and buy a cradle... with what money though'' i ask, and she gets an idea.

"Beth gave me this, before we left to the houses for the first time this afternoon'' she says, holding out a gold card that resembles a credit card. "The pin code is simple, 1578. It's got an unlimited amount of money on it for the next week, and after that we have to get part time jobs working here in this city to earn more, as well as going to school. It's exactly the same as the over world, or 'earth'. Only, all the people here apart from us are slightly less human, but you could never tell. You get good people and bad people, just like where we came from'' she explains and i smile, of coarse she's prepared. Classic Morgan always would be.

"Brilliant. I'll go and get someone from the other two flats and take them to town with me. We'll get what we need after dinner so go make a list of what we need. I'll get a map from Beth or something. '' i say, and Morgan nods.

"We'll also need to move this Chest of drawers back somewhere, so i'd just say beside the bed'' I say, and morgan nods, helping me move it.

We move the pale blue mat in the center of the room into the far right corner where Hannah's area would be. Morgan uses her Fallen to move the heavy shelves hanging on the wall, to hang on the wall in the corner aswell, for us to put Hannah's stuff on. Morgan spends around twenty minutes unpacking Hannahs things onto the shelves and into the wardrobe. Suddenly, we hear a call from downstairs,

"Guys! Dinners ready!" Jessicas voice echoes up the stairs.

"Coming!" i reply, and Morgan stands up, brushing invisible dirt off of her jeans. "I think we should get new clothes tomorrow, aswell'' i add and she nods.

We make our way downstairs where Jessica is serving up dinner onto four plates, and Kylie is mashing food together for Hannah.

***

I pause with my hand on the front door handle, and call out, "Where is that list?!" i shout out, and Morgan skips down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last one but recovering quickly. I laugh at her and she rolls her eyes before handing me the list.

"Now get out of my house'' she jokes and i open the door,

''It's my house to genuis'' i scoff and pull the door closed behind me. I make my way to the flat beside us and knock on the door.

It opens almost immediatly and i am greeted by Summer, Max and Connor sitting on the couch behind her watching a show in the TV. she smiles at me gently

"Hey, i'm going to town to buy some stuff with the moeny Beth gave us. Do you need anything?'' i ask and she nods,

''Yeah, i made a list actually i was going to go out but if you are then that's great. Do you want someone to come with you?'' she asks, opening the door and motioning for me to follow her in and i do.

Her, Max and Connors house is more classicaly decorated that is, with light coloured wooden floors and darker coloured floors. From what i can see, it is layed out exactly the same way as ours just coloured differently. Summer flicks her wrist and a small piece of paper lands in my hand with the other one.

"Someone can come if they want'' i shrug and Connor jumps up,

''I'll come!" he exclaims and shrugs on his jacket that was on the back of the sofa.

"Be safe'' Max tells him and Connor smiles

"Of coarse. I'll be with James anyway'' he says. Max nods and me and Connor leave the house.

''We'll be back in like two hours'' i call as we pull the door closed. "We just need to go the Bre, John and Michaels house now'' i say and Connor skips along beside me with a nod.

"Are you happy here, Connor?'' i ask and he looks at me with a confused expression on his face.

"Of coarse i am, i'd rather be here with all my friends then anywhere else by myself'' he shrugs and i nod in agreement with him.

We knock on John, Bre and Michaels door and we are greeted by none other than Breanna.

"Hey guys'' she grins and i smile at her.

"Hey, we're going shopping. You want anything? And you or Michael can come'' i say and she smiles.

"If you could pick up new pair of shoes for me that'd be great'' she says, writing it down on a piece of paper and giving it to me. ''And i'm good waiting here, but hang on- MICHAEL! DO YOU WANT TO GO SHOPPING WITH CONNOR AND JAMES???" she yells and Connor giggles slightly. I shoot him an odd look, making him laugh again.

"Sure!" Michael responds, coming out of the hallway. Their house is more cabinish, but still layed out exactly the same and ours, and Connors.

He joins us outside and we wave goodbye to Bre before making our way down the now orange tinted streets. The sun is going down, making colours shoot across the sky like Oranges, Pinks and reds.

We talk about nothing in particular, before we arrive at what we can only assume is a mall of a sort. We walk through the huge doors, and are greeted by a huge three storied mall with bronze bloods rushing around, laughing and chatting. Some teenagers walking around inside clothing stores, shoe stores and jewlrey stores in groups of four or five, Parents wondering with their children and even some elders talking at tables outside of cafes. It seems just like a regular mall in LA, and i feel so at home.

"Wow" Connor gasps, and looks around. "Its so big!" he exclaims and i laugh at his amazement.

"Come on, we need to go and find everything we need. We need to get Bre's shoes first so lets just go in here. Connor, your her cousin, whats her style?'' i ask him and he rolls her eyes.

"Anything slutty'' he jokes and Michael and i laugh. "No, okay, usually she likes boots that are like warm and coloured a natural colour but i'm nearly summer so i'd say some white sneakers or something'' he shrugs.

***

The next hour consists or shopping for stuff, and we manage to find everything we need with the help of a few shop keepers who somehow immediately knew who we were.

We end up sitting outside of a Burger King, drinking milkshakes when all of a sudden, a group of teenage girls around Mine and Michaels age comes up to us. We smile at them and stand up.

"Hi, if your here to ask where to go, we have no idea'' Michael laughs and the girls join in.

"No, we just wanted to thank you guys for deciding to stay here in Ecton. It's given everyone hope'' the girl in front asks. She is a few inches taller than me, and has long black hair. She reminds me of Jess in some ways, the way she holds her posture and the way she stands confidently.

"So that's what this place is called? Ecton? We were never told. And we're happy to help. It's not everyday we're given a purpose in life. On Earth... well we weren't exactly considered heros'' Connor explains. They all nod and then smile.

"Well, maybe we'll see you around school?'' another girl asks.

"Maybe'' Michael shrugs and they smile once again before they all go off, laughing amongst themselves. 

It feels great to be needed. No, Wanted. 

CHAPTER TEN

"Just because we live in some ultimate universe, does NOT mean you get to choose when you go to school'' i hear Morgan telling Kylie in the other room. I get up off of the couch that we had moved from the den into Morgans room for me to sleep in.

I get up and stretch before checking the time on my phone beside the sofa. It reads 7:09am. I decide to get up now, before i go back to sleep and stand up with a yawn. Beth came by last night with a school uniform for each of us, apart from Jessica, who was given entry to the University.

The uniform is simple, a white blouse underneath a grey knee length dress and black stockings and shoes for the girls, and Grey shorts, a grey button up and black socks and shoes for the boys. Both boys and girls have a dark blue coloured jumper with the school crest on the chest, and a blue and white striped tie.

I dress quickly and leave my tie untied around my neck as i step into the bathroom across from mine and Morgans room. I pretty much have my own bathroom, as the girls all use the downstairs bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth and hair, before splashing my face and heading downstairs.

Kylie and Jessica Are dressed and ready, and are making their breakfast, just cereal and coffee or tea in Kylie's case.

"Me and the rest of the girls are going clothes shopping tonight, and we're leaving straight after school so Me, Morgan Kylie will be home around 6 o'clock.'' Jessica says, and Kylie grins. Morgan walks into the room tieing her tie, and smiles at me.

Her red curls are wild around her face and down her back and i laugh.

"What's funny?'' she asks, frowning.

"The hairbrush is in the bedroom'' i mumble and she goes red, pushing past me gently and racing up stairs. I laugh and Jessica joins in, and even Kylie can't help but smile.

"Hannah is still asleep'' Jessica reminds us, and we fall silent.

***

The walk to school isn't that far, and we arrive a few minutes after we leave.

It being June, it's already midway through the school year and we are the newbies. The ten of us. Connor and Kylie are in the same year, and are requested to be in the same class. Just so they're with someone they know.

Even though Max is just fourteen, he is in the same year as Michael and Morgan. Me and Bre are in the same year, and John is in between Mine and Bre's, and Connor and Kylie's.

We stick together as we make our way to the front office, and people stare at us. Some wave, and some smile, but nobody approaches us or speaks to us. As always, Max stands protectively beside Connor, his hand not quite touching his lower back but close enough so that if someone was to attack them, he would be able to push him out of the way. Kylie is on the other side of Connor, and behind the, are Me, Summer, Bre, Michael and Morgan. John will be brought to school by a Silver soon, and we may or may not see him before interval at 11:00am.

The front office is cool, and is a long rectangular room cut in half by a wooden desk with two women sitting behind it.

I step forwards, and the first woman looks up with a smile.

"Ah, you must be James. And these are the rest of you, alright.'' she says happily. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The school day goes well, but not like anything we've ever been to before. It's like normal school, but none of the teachers yell, or punish because nobody ever does anything wrong. Like, ever.

From what i hear, Kylie and Connor stuck together pretty tight, not talking to anyone at, along with Max who was very protective over Connor during both interval and lunchtime, which makes me smile. They love each other, thats for sure. Conor doesn't seem bothered by the over protectiveness the Max has over him, because he knows that with Max there, he will be safe and doesn't have to worry about anyone getting near him.

John approaches us during interval, accompanied by two Silvers, and he looks like he's had the life drained from him. As soon as he is in sight of Bre, her eyes flood with tears. I can see the urge she has of wanting to hug him, wanting to comfort him but she can't bring herself to do it. Not after she has blamed herself to entirely. When John looks to his right, watching a group of people walk past, i notice something. In is left eye, the left corner between the Iris and the edge, there is no white. It is black. The colour sends shivers down my spine. I wouldn't have noticed, had he simply looked down because even though the white are black, his eyes are still blue and green, like they always were. 

Bre freezes up, and i know she sees it because she raises her hands to touch the skin below her eyes. We have been here in Ecton for a mere two days, and they already have been through so much. Maybe the future isn't as bright here as we thought it would be. Maybe it isn't a good idea to stay here. But it may be the only way to learn to use our Fallens. The only way we can find out what our future here holds, is to wait here, be patient and find out.

***

Maybe the whole school thing wasn't a great idea.

"Summer was it so hard, so keep your mouth shut and your hands folded?'' Bre asks, folding her arms in front of the blonde.

"It wasn't my fault. They were agitating me'' Summer shrugs, rolling her eyes.

"Tomorrow, nobody will get into anymore fights. Or there will be punishments.'' maybe i spoke too soon when i said nobody misbehaves. Because there are a certain group of boys and a few girls who seem to be the 'bad guys' at the school.

''Mhm'' Summer rolls her eyes again and disappears into her house. Jessica watches after her and sighs deeply.

"That girl, is going to be the death of me.'' 

CHAPTER TWELVE

The first week of school goes... somewhat smoothly. Not as great as i thought it would, but nobody got into any seriously bad fights... and nobody was injured.

To be fair, none of us started any fights, we just ended them in... the wrong way.

"I said it on Monday, i'll say it today, Summer is going to be the death of me'' Jessica says, coming out of our bathroom drying her insanely long black hair.

"Why? What happened?'' Morgan asks, putting Hannah down in her high chair.

"I got a call from Max this morning, he says Summer is flat out refusing to go to work today'' she sighs and i roll my eyes.

"That's her problem, she's going to learn sooner or later that even in Ecton you have to make a living for yourself. We're fucking lucky to be in the position we are, not having to pay any rent or anything. I'll have a talk to Max about not paying for anything of hers. Connor will have already come to that conclusion, he's a smart kid'' i say, running frantically around the house cleaning before i have to walk Morgan and Bre to work. 

"You're right, she'll come around. All this is probably just alot for her to take in, she's one of the only ones out of us who hasn't dealt with... extreme measures like this before.'' Morgan sighs and leaves the room to go and get dressed into her uniform type thing. It's not really a uniform, but it's the kind of clothing that she is expected to wear during her shifts.

Her and Bre work in a cafe, about six blocks from where we live called 'Tè a nido d'ape' or something, which translates to 'HoneyComb Tea' from some language nobody out of the nine of us can speak. Probably like, French or something. Maybe Italian.

''Hey, we're going to be late if you don't hurry up'' i call up the stairs earning me an uncaring laugh.

"Come to think of it, i should think of getting a job'' Jessica mutters, moving round the kitchen cleaning up. "Max is to paranoid to leave Connor by himself, and the boys are 13 and 14 for fu- gods sake. Summer will refuse to go, Johns unfit to and Michael looks after their entire flat. Your going, Morgans going and Bre's going. I'm only staying home to look after Hannah and Kylie during the day. I think i might start asking her to go over to Max and Connors flat on the weekends sometimes. I am happy looking after the children, but i'm only bloody 19, i'm not ready to be a mom yet'' she rants, cleaning quickly.

"Maybe it's a good idea. I heard from kids at school that there's a kindergarten near the elementary school, perhaps when Hannah turns one we can take her there and see what it's like'' i shrug and she nods.

***

As i'm walking with Morgan and Bre to their work, I get a really bad feeling that something is either happening or going to happen.

I call everyone's houses, and nobody else seems to feel it and they are okay, nothing is happening.

"What's wrong, James?'' Morgan asks me, a worried expression on her face. Her red curls are tied into a tight bun on top of her head, with a few loose strands framing her face.

"Nothing... nothing really, i'm just being paranoid it's really no big... deal...'' i mutter, looking around.

Everything goes perfectly until we have to pass through a dark alley way. When we are about half way down it, both light sources from either end and above us are completely blocked and we are left in utter darkness. The only confirmation i have that Bre and Morgan are next to me, is the feeling of the their arms pressed against mine.

We naturally move into a tri circle and take battle stances.

"Give us some light will ya?'' Bre mutters to me and I close my eyes for a split second and a ball of white light appears above is.

Suddenly, the walls are covered in melted black tar and i look to my left to see one of Bre's eyes slowly turning jet black. I grab her arm tightly with one hand, and it freezes.

"Remember who you are Breanna, not who they want you to be'' I whisper to her, and two black figures materialise in the alley in front of us. Bre's grip on my arm slackens, and I grab hers in panic.

One of the figures forms into a tall figure standing at least a foot above me dressed completely in black with a hood covering his face. The second i recognise as Nick.

"Nick, i swear to God. Are you this guy's minion or something?! What do you guys want and how did you get here'' I demand, pulling both Morgan and Bre behind me very obviously.

"We can go anywhere we want, whenever we want'' Nick growls, standing in a protective stance. The man in the black hood still doesn't move and I glare at him.

"Whose he, then?'' i ask, jutting out my chin in the hooded figures direction.

"That's none of your business, but you have something that is very valuable to me'' Nick says, walking slowly towards us.

I find that my feet cannot move from where i am standing, even when his face is very close to mine. He leans down to whisper something to me, and i see a look in his eyes that i have only ever seen him wear once before.

"Take the girls and go back to your house right now. Go, please. Now'' he whispers urgently and looks me right in the eyes.

"please...'' 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Nick, mom told us not to go this far into the forest'' I call after the taller brunette who is skipping through the forest. I follow behind him, knowing that if we lose each other, we're both done for.

"Mom isn't here'' he taunts, and grins. Nick has always been one to love being outside. He hates sitting in doors, he loves school, he has loads of friends and he even has a girlfriend. Her name is Maisly. She is really nice.

"Nick, come on'' i whine and he rolls his eyes.

"Come on James, it's not that bad, i know these woods like the back of my hand.'' he insists and i follow after him nervously. I trust Nick with my life, but he scares me sometimes.

"Hey! You kids! Slow down!" calls an unfamiliar voice, and i lock eyes with Nick. He nods and mouths the word 'run' to me. We both lurch into a flat sprint and cover at least a mile before we come to a huge bluff.

"This isn't supposed to me here, the... how?'' Nick frets, and i feel the rock beneath me shift.

The man who i assume was chasing us, appears from the shadow of the trees and he is tall, with a hood covering his face. He is dressed in all black.

''Nick'' i whisper in fright, and take a step back on instinct. I slip and grab frantically onto the edge of the cliff. Nick bends down and grabs my wrists.

He pulls me up with a haul, and no sooner than when i hit the grass, the man grabs Nicks arms and pins him to the ground.

I get up and shove the man, but he barely moves.

"Go now James! Now! Run, go home, tell the others, i'll be right behind you i promise'' he says. His eyes tell me the same thing, demanding me to go, run, leave him behind even when we both know he won't be right behind me. The man covers Nicks mouth

"Don't you dare go anywhere, kid'' the man's voice sends shivers down my spine and I take a few steps back.

The man jerks his hand away from Nicks mouth and i see it dripping with blood from a bite mark on his palm.

"GO JAMES!" he shouts.

The last thing i see, is Nick's piercing blue eyes before i turn my back.

And I run. I run as fast as I can. 

CHAPER FOURTEEN

"Please...'' Nick whispers and I twitch my hand, finally being able to move. "I'm not going to stop you. I tried to stop him from coming here, James. I can't... i barely have a free will anymore'' he adds

"Your speaking for yourself right now'' i point out in a mumble

"I know, it's because of you, your giving me strength. I remember, James. I remember the last day we saw each other. But we don't have time to talk about that now. Meet me in the alley behind your house and one am tonight. But for now, go. Run. now.'' he says, and turns around to face the hooded figure, which disappears after Nick whispers a few words to it.

"Now. Go.'' he demands, and then everything in the alley is gone. Back to normal.

As soon as the girls can move for themselves, they push me up against the wall of the alleyway.

"What the hell was that?! What did he say to you?! Do what now?! Go where?!" They exclaim. I forget that they never knew Nick. I need to see Max right now.

"We need to go home right now'' i say in a monotone voice.

"We have work!" Bre exclaims and i shake my head.

"No. no work. We need to go home.'' i say and drag them along behind me.

***

As soon as we get home, i pull out my phone and go out into the backyard.

I dial Max's number and he answers on the first ring.

"Did you get to work?'' he asks immediately and I clench my jaw.

"Just meet me in my backyard. Go through the gate in yours. Bre will be home in a minute, just you. Leave Connor inside'' i say and hang up. Less than a minute later, Max opens the gate between the two backyards and meets my gaze with concerned eyes.

"What's going on?'' he asks urgently and I shake my head.

"I saw Nick again. On the way to work'' i whisper and his fists clench.

"And?'' he asks, his voice strained.

"And... he is under some kind of influence. I don't know what kind... a little bit like Bre's. But he told me that he remembers the last day we saw each other.'' i blurt out.

"He's lying'' Max says instantaneously.

"He has no free will, Max!" i insist.

"James he was as much my friend as he was your brother. I wish that was true as well.'' Max says, his voice going soft.

"I know you're only fourteen, Max, but i need you to meet me here at 12:50am. Please. I need to show you'' i plead and he furrows his eyebrows together, his eyes turing furious.

"He's. Coming. HERE?!" he yells and i shake my head.

"No no no no not here, please max believe me, you'll see. You'll see that he has no choice. He was taken, He didn't leave me behind'' I admit and he widens his eyes.

He has so many emotions running through his eyes. Betrayal, mostly.

"You lied?!" he accuses me

"I was nine, Max! I was dealing with the fact that my twin brother was being taken away from me by some strange hooded man, and i made up that lie because i somehow just knew that if anyone went after the two of them, he would kill Nick'' I say, the words tumbling out.

"I'll be here at ten to one. If you're lying to me, then i'm going to kill him'' Max growls, and disappears from my yard.

I collapse onto my knees and just cry. The memories Nick and i have together...

He is my biological twin brother. Not identical. We have some aspects of look alikeness. We're both tallish, and we both have blue eyes, we both have black-brown hair that curls at some lengths, and most of all, we both have similar voices.

Mom was devastated when he disappeared... and my nine year old self did the worst thing i could have done. I lied. I told them he ran away and left me behind, because he didn't like having a twin brother. It was around then that i got kicked out of the house, because they thought i was the reason my twin brother ran away.

That's when i met Jessica's older sister Kelly. She let me stay with her in her flat for a few years, until i met the other eight of the Fallens, and we organised that. I haven't spoken to Kelly in a long time.

***

Eventually, i go back inside and go straight into the upstairs bathroom without stopping to talk to Morgan, Jessica or Kylie.

I look at myself in the mirror, and instead of James, i see Nick.

Nicholas.

I could have saved him. I didn't have to listen to him. But i did, because i'm stupid, and i was a kid.

I should have saved him. I had to listen to him. Of coarse i did. I always listen to Nick.

Which is why i'm listening to him now. Maybe it's a trap? God forbid anything good happens to me.

***

As soon as the clocks ticks 12:50am, i'm out the back door as fast as anything. I make sure not to wake Morgan and rush down the stairs, pulling my coat on as i go.

When i open the door, Max is standing there with his arms folded.

"You better hope he's not going to rat us out'' he growls

"I know he won't. He's my brother... he wouldn't lie to me'' i say, only 99% percent sure that what i'm saying is true.

I take a deep breath and head towards the gate to the alley at the back of our garden and push it open. My heart skips a beat at the sight of Nick standing there already.

"I was expecting more... rehearsal time'' he breathes and I feel my insides warm up.

"Your not gone...'' I mumble and Max tenses beside me.

"You. Are. A. Traitor.'' Max spits from clenched teeth.

"I didn't have a choice'' Nick explains, taking a step forwards

"You had no will" i correct him, and he nods.

"I couldn't have come back even if i wanted. Even if i tried. Which i did. Multiple times'' he tries, extending his hand out to Max, who takes a step back.

"You could be lying.'' Max says in a pained voice. "Trusting you means putting Connor in danger. It means putting all of us at risk''

"Max, you saw what they were doing to the brunnette girl. They had her brainwashed to think that you guys were the bad guys'' Nick tells him.

"Breanna fought it. She defeated it,'' Max replies. "She excaped. Unlike you.''

"She is stronger than me, only had it done for a small amount of time, and is older. I was nine, had it done to me daily for seven years, and i was weak. Young.'' he retorts

"You could have tried''

"I did! Max, I did! I tried for years! I even came close. If you ever see the base, which i hope you are never in the situation where you have to, then you will understand that it's not as easy as fighting the take over and leaving. It was never that simple. It never WILL be that simple.'' Nick says, trying to stay calm.

"Then how are you standing here right now?'' Max asks him, and even in the darkness i can see him raising his eyebrows. I would've made some light right now, but I didn't want the off chance that a Silver would walk past and see him.

"I made... extreme sacrifices...'' 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Can you expand on this? Its not a hard thing to fake'' Max demands and I shoot him a glare that says, 'give it a rest'

"Let's just say i can't go home without being tortured to the brink of death and then left to die in the cellar'' He breathes and looks down again. "I'm labelled as a traitor for the rest of my life'' he says, and rolls up his left sleeve to reveal a large 'WE' burnt into his arm.

"Can i ask what WE stands for...?" Max asks, crossing his arms.

"With Ecton'' he answers.

"And? How are people supposed to know that?'' i ask him and he waves his hand, creating a slightly transparent screen between us.

"This'' he says, tapping it, and a small white square that gives off a faint glow appears with the same mark on it. He swipes it to the side and taps the screen a few more times and a parapgraph of writing comes up. ''Those marked with the initials WE, are marked as outside traitors from BG, or, Base Gray. The punishment flips with those from Ecton who are imprinted with WBG, meaning With Base Gray. Any traitor found inside of the city they have been banished from will have their Mark scanned and found Guilty until proven Innocent'' he reads out.

I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out and i stare at the two letters on his arm.

"What did you do to earn something like this?'' Max asks him and I flick my wrist at him, causing a hot strip of light to graze his hand slightly. He flinches and shoots me a look that says 'what?'

"This morning. When i saw James and the Girls. I let them go. I told James to 'take the girls home and meet me in the alley at 1:00am'. The man i was with marked me and dropped me outside the base. With nothing... hense the mess'' he says. I am just now noticing his messy hair and torn clothing.

"I still... as much as i want to trust you it's so hard after what... Not after i saw Bre like that...'' Max whispers unexpectedly.

"That wasn't me, Max'' Nick pleads, leaning forwards

"Well it damn well looked like you!" Max snaps, making me jump

"Its a metaphor, Max. I swear to god, it was me physically but Mentally its like there is a wall between my mind and my body. Like i was sharing with somebody and i got the lesser half. Ask Breanna. She'll tell you what its like.'' Nick explains and I close my eyes.

"Max??'' Calls a tired voice from one of the gates and Max whips around to faintly see Connor standing by the gate to their Garden. "Why're you out here so late?'' He mumbles and Max quickly runs to him.

"What're you doing awake, Connor?'' Max asks him, pulling him to his chest.

"You woke me up when you got out of bed, so i waited and you didn't come back'' he frowns and i lock eyes with Nick. i see the familiar glint and smirk, just as i would see whenever we both knew something. I bite my lip to hold back a laugh and Nick does exactly the same thing.

"Oh, I'm sorry Connor, just go back to bed and i'll be there soon i promise'' Max tries to persuade him.

"What? No, I want to know whats going on out here, why are you and James out here at One am?!" He demands and I realise he hasn't seen Nick yet. I try to subtly tell him to move away, and he backs about ten feet down the Alley to where i can't see him anymore.

"We're just sorting some stuff out, Connor. Come on.'' Max pleads him, and Connor folds his arms with a glare.

"Max, please?'' Connor begs, and Max looks like he's about to give in

"Hey, look. Max, i can finish it by myself, i think i'm starting to get the hang of this anyway'' i lie, and swirl my fingers to make shapes with my light, giving off as little light as i can.

''Okay'' Max says with fake enthusiam, eyeing me up. As Connor turns to leave, i mouth 'I'll tell you later' to Max and he nods before following Connor away.

"That was close'' Nick mutters, coming closer to me. I nod.

"So what now? Max obviously doesn't trust you... Bre will flip when she sees you, Morgan even more so, and Michael will be protective over John. You know they all just want to protect eachother...'' I say to him, and he nods slowly to what i'm saying.

"I know, i just wish i could help. You know, there are other Fallens out there... just not necessarily the Fallen Nine. there are other good ones, like Fallen Holders and Silvers. There are some bad ones, Like Grays and Fallen Finders. And there are some Gold bloods, Silver Bloods and Bronze bloods. After that, well its just Humans.'' he tells me and I raise my eyebrows.

"How do you know all this?'' i ask him and he smiles softly.

"There is a price you must pay for the knowledge to be passed to you'' he says and my heart rate increases as I postion myself to defend myself. But he just grins and his eyes fill with tears and he opens his arms to me. Without hesitating or thinking, i run into them and hug him tightly for the first time in eight years.

***

I walk back into the house around 2:30am, to see Morgan sitting at the counter, tapping her fingers. She looks mad.

"Where have you been?'' she asks, her voice calm.

"Outside'' i say, my voice breaking.

"Doing what?'' she asks

"Practising. My powers. Shapes. Temperatures. Brightness and Dimness'' I Lie, the story coming smoothly.

"Oh...'' she whispers, her expression smoothing out. "Next time wake me up, i'll come out and help you'' she says softly and i nod.

"Why are you even awake?'' i ask her, as i fill a glass with water and down it.

"I had a nightmare. I've only been awake around five or ten minutes'' she says and we walk back upstairs.

"Do you want to talk about it?'' i ask as we enter our room and i sit on the couch.

"It's pretty pathetic'' she mutters, pulling the covers down on her bed. "Do you want the bed tonight? I feel bad seeing you sleep on the couch every night'' she offers and i shake my head. "I'm trying subtly ask you to sleep in the bed with me. I don't think i could sleep by myself'' she says sheepishly, looking at the ground.

"O-oh. okay. Sure'' i shrug, trying to act casually when in reality my heart is racing inside my chest. I move myself from the couch to the bed, and sit on the edge on the other side from Morgan.

She buries herself under the covers and i do the same before taking off my shoes. Thankfully, i'm in track pants and a comfortable t-shirt already so i don't have to change. To my surprise, instead of curling up away from me, Morgan drapes her arm over my stomach and leans her head in the crook of my neck. I feel my face flush red as i wrap one of my arms around her waist and rest the other as a pillow under the back of her neck.

I fall asleep quickly, the comfort of having Morgan asleep next to me overtaking my mind. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Morgan and i awake very late the next morning, and it takes me a moment to remember the events of last night. When the memories flood my mind, tears fill my eyes and spill over the brim. Tears are running down my cheeks when Morgans eyes flutter open.

"Hey hey hey hey hey... whats going on? Are you okay?'' she asks tiredly, wiping them away.

"I'm fine. Just a nightmare...'' i lie. Why am i lying so much recently?! Soon, i'll tell Morgan everything. Just as Max will tell Connor.

"Well... its only a dream'' she says softly, her fingers softly lingering on my cheeks before she takes them away and pulls them through her wild curls. Her red hair frames her heart shaped face, and her eyes shine bright green with dark, full lashes lining them and dark freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. Her hair falls to her hips and curls insanely. She winds it into a bun and ties it with a rubber band off of her wrist.

"How do you do that?'' i ask, without really meaning to say it out loud.

"I guess its a learned profession. I've had to do it every morning for the last i don't know how many years of my life'' she shrugs, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. I can hear Jessica making Kylie and Hannah breakfast down stairs and i lean back on the pillows, closing my eyes.

"I'm to tired to get out of bed today'' I mumble, and suddenly, Morgan tickles me.

"Too bad, lazy zombie, you have to!'' she giggles and tickles me even more. I jump out of bed and she follows, chasing me all the way down the hall and the stairs, into the living room. Finally, she tackles me onto the couch, and tickles me so much, i'm almost crying of laughter.

"Stop! Sto- Morgan!" i exclaim and she jumps up, laughing at my helplessness.

She skips under the archway and into the kitchen, giggling to herself.

"Don't think your going to get away with that!" i call after her and she just scoffs.

"Oh honey. I already have'' 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Three weeks pass with no word from Nick, which is worrying considering his... current position in society. From both ends. Morgan and Jessica have started to notice that something isn't right. Nothing has come from Base Gray in weeks, and we've had no training at all.

Today, Monday, is the day that Breanna, Morgan and myself go back to work. We were given a few weeks off to make sure that there wasn't going to be another attack. Fair enough, because if anything happened to us, Ecton has nobody but the Silver Fallens and Bronze bloods who only have very weak fallens.

As i am coming downstairs, I hear a loud cracking sound and I speed up to a run, coming to a rough stop in the kitchen where i see Elizabeth standing there.

"Elizabeth? Is something wrong?" Jessica is asking as I near them. Breanna is already at our house, and her and Morgan are already dressed in their uniforms; a black button up shirt and a black skirt, with black shoes. Pretty much all black. Kind of boring, but they suit it.

"Wrong? No. but i have a mission for you all. A mission in the sense that you must all choose a... what humans would call a sidekick. A Silver Fallen. You will all be given an exact copy of your key, and you will carefully choose your Silver. By watching them, and keeping tabs on how they live, deal with tense situations and how fit they are." She explains and I frown.

"So... you expect us to take children from their families?" I fume, stepping into view.

"No. I do not expect you to do that. That is why you have this" she says, waving her hand in front of her. A screen similar to Nicks appears, only it is easier to see.

She taps it a few times and an arrangement of Five boys and four girls appear on the screen. One of the girls catch my eye. She has cleanly cut, straight, chin length black hair and bangs, with peircing green eyes. She wears a brown leather jacket and a black v-neck underneath, black jeans and black sneakers. The name beneath her photo reads "Olivia Garnet Rose-15"

"I like her" i say "Olivia". I can't explain why, but she reminds me vagualy of someone, and i know she will make a brilliant fighter.

Without a word, Elizabeth creates another small piece of screen, and Olivias photo, along with a bunch of files appears on it. Beth hands the small tablet to me.

I sit at the table behind the four of them and stare at Olivia's picture. Who does she remind me of? Who?!

I scroll down to her files and tap in the one labeled; Information.

Olivia Garnet Rose, 15.

Lives in LA, California.

Family: Ran from her home with her Mother, Father and three sisters. (Heather, Paul, Lily, Kayla and Genny)

Fitness level: Above average, Awarded black belt in 2013 at age 11. Was captain of the track team, swim team and netball team from 2014-17.

Schooling: Dropped out of school, and lives with Mark Thomas, 15 and Terri Oswald, 15.

'Terri Oswald... Terri Oswald. Why does her name sound familiar?' i think to myself and frown as i exit the file. I tap on another one, labeled Specialities.

Olivia Garnet Rose, 15.

Karate, Martial arts and boxing. Excellent fighter.

Height: 5"5

Weight: 58kgs

Can take anybody taller, heavier and faster.

I frown again at the lack of information, but my frown disappears when I scroll even further to find another photo of her, another girl and a boy. Both of who were on the large screen.

One of the girls has short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She is slightly shorter than Olivia and from the name beneath her, i take it that this is Terri. The boy has smooth, blonde hair and blue eyes and is much taller than the two girls.

Great. Olivia looks familiar and Terri sounds familiar.

Suddenly, morgan is sitting beside me and i jump violently, making her laugh.

"Bit jumpy are we?" she jokes, and i don't respond. "This is one hell of a mission" she mutters, trying again. This time, i nod.

"Morgan, look at her. Doesn't she look familiar?" i ask, scrolling back up to Olivia's photo and sliding the screen towards her.

"Oh my god" she mumbles, staring at the photo. "She looks like Gigi, doesn't she?" she adds

My brain clicks, the last name and all. Gigi. Genny Rose. Her sister. Her older sister! Her older sister used to be in my class... doesn't that mean...

"Morgan, She's Genny's sister. Look" i say, opening the file and pointing to the name before going back to the photo.

"Doesn't that mean that Olivia shouldn't have been in my year?" she asks, scrolling down to look at her education files.

It reads our school, Julian High- LA, California.

"She can't have dropped out before i could've known her. We would always have been in the same year, it makes no sense" Morgan frowns and looks frantically through the files until she comes to the photo of her, Terri and the other boy.

"Terri. Terri Oswald." she says, pointing to the brown haired girl.

"You know her? I know her name... i don't recognise her face" i say, zooming in on it slightly so it just shows Terri's face.

"I sure as hell hope you recognise her face" She says, turning to face me with an expression that almost portrays frustration.

"Wait... wait i don't... should i...?" I frown and she nods, raising her eyebrows at me expectantly.

"Yes! You should! Jesus christ don't hear Connor saying that you don't!" She exclaims

Suddenly, my brain clicks and my mind puts a picture of Terri and a picture of Connor next to each other.

"Holy Sh- i completely forgot Connor even had a sister" i mutter under my breath and Morgan sighs in relief.

"There you are" She says and then slides her small screen over to me. "Here" she says, and i look at the photo. Its another girl, with a high, brown pony tail, glaces and braces.

"I picked her because i knew nobody else would... but she looks like she has potential." she explains, gazing at the picture.

"She does, doesn't she?" i mumble, taking in her every feature. "Josephine Dove" i read out and Morgan nods

"In all honesty, it's her name that caught my attention" she admits

"Josephine was your moms name, right?" I ask subconciously and she nods, without a word. "Sorry! Sorry i wasn't- i didn't mean to ask that aloud i'm sorry" I backtrack, trying to cover up.

"No, no it's fine. Yeah. Moms name was Josephine." She says, frowning slightly, shaking a thought from her head.

"So... what do you think she'll be like?" i ask, scrolling down to read her files.

"Fit. she's fit. Not the best, but she's good enough. I think i could do a lot with her. She'll be the most badass Silver Fallen of all" Morgan laughs

"Is that a challenge?" i ask, raising an eyebrow before I give her screen back and pick mine up.

"Could be" she shrugs

"Well... we'll see. Olivia, she looks like she'd make a better offense anyway. Josephine? More like defense" I say and she nods.

"I actually agree with you on that one."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"How do these kids do this every single morning?" I mutter as Bre and I sit high up in the tree's, watching the two girls walk down the river to where the copy of my Neckless hangs under the bridge.

"I feel like such a creep" Bre says and i laugh quietly.

"We're watching Genny's younger sister and Connors older sister from tree tops because we're recruiting them to Ecton. No, not creepy at all" i say sarcastically and she rolls her eyes at me.

Connor had been so excited when he found out that Terri had been one of the choosen recruits, though Elizabeth had forbid him to mentor her. Connor had instead chosen a young girl, around his age named Niki, to train.

Max had been just as happy, only because Connor was, which isn't surprising.

"Breanna, go, now" i say, pushing her slightly as i see Olivia grab the hanging neckless. Bre jumps down from the trees and lands perfectly, closely followed by me. She grabs my wrist and pulls me through the bush, until we're near the girls, where we hear them talking.

"Terri, I know something's tied to this. I'm not stupid" Olivia is saying. Her voice is the complete opposite of what you would expect from her sharp, feirce appearance.

"You and your superstitions, Ollie, Really. It's fine" Terri says, her voice so much like Connors i almost do a double take. Terri reaches out to grab the chain from Olivias hand. As the chain falls into her palm, she jerks her hand back and glares angrily and Olivia

"What the hell was that?!" she demands, clutching her hand to her chest.

"What? What happened? Why did you drop it?" Olivia asks, obviously confused.

Terri bends down to pick the necklace up off of the ground, and this is when i step in.

"I wouldn't touch it again if i were you" I warn Terri and i skip down from the trees into view. They both jump at the sound of my voice and i smile warmly. "James Striker. Olivia Rose and Terri Oswald, right?" i ask curiously, already knowing the answer.

When they don't respond, I gesture for Olivia to pick up the necklace.  
"Go on, pick it up. It won't shock you like it did Terri" I say and Terri frowns.

"How did you know it shocked me?" she asks in amazement.

"Because the same thing would happen if-" I am suddenly cut off by a strong, familiar feeling of wanting to turn around and look at Breanna. "Bre i would appreciate it if you weren't being SO distracting at this very moment" I snap, turning to face her anyway.

"Try and stop me" she says happily, skipping down to my side. "Hey girls" She greets casually.

"ANYWAY. As i was saying before i was so RUDELY interupted, I knew that it had shocked you because the very same thing would happen if Bre here touched my one" I say, tugging the Amythest necklace out from underneath my Ecton defense uniform.

"Hang on... that's exactly the same as this one" Olivia speaks up, picking up the chain from where it had fallen and holding it up.

"Yup. exactly. I put it there. For you, and especially for you to find" I tell her and her eyes widen in surprise.

"You are probably wanting an explanation. James?" Bre asks, sitting on a flat rock to our right.

"As we said before, our names are James and Breanna. We're both 17. We were recruited for Ecton two months ago, and have had constant training since. We are the fallens of Light and Temptation. You, Olivia and Terri, are the Silver Fallens, of Light and Temptaion. Olivia, that necklace that you are holding that is identical to mine, is a Silver Fallen key, which unlocks your Silver Fallen. Just as mine unlocks my Gold, or rather, Stronger Fallen. We live in a place called Ecton, and there are-"

"Seven more of you. Isn't there?" Olivia inturrupts.

"They still teach you about us in school do they?" I ask her and she nods.

"The Fallen Nine. Nine choosen Children between the ages of 13 and 20 who are given a peice of jewelry, a key, to unlock the Fallen." Terri continues and i nod at her.

"Right. But we are all given nine more Children between the ages 13 and 20 to mentor, train. And Myself and Breanna have choosen the two of you." I finish. Olivia pushes her chin length hair out of her face and tightens the sash on her tan coloured jacket.  
"Why us?" she asks

"You already know the answer to that, don't you Olivia" Bre says with a sly smile on her face. "You two have to options. Come with us, back to Ecton and be trained, taught and given a place to live with your mentor along with another Fallen and THEIR recruit, or, Leave now without the necklace or any memory of meeting us here." She adds, repeating the words that the nine of us had been rehearsing for days.

"I'm in" Olivia says immediatly, locking eyes with me. I nod in acknowledgement with a small smile on my face. She nods back and Terri's face breaks into a huge grin.  
"Do i get pretty girl over here?" She asks, gesturing to Bre who also grins.  
"Hell yeah you do" she replies and i laugh. 'I'm not even doing anything' Bre mouths to me happily which makes me grin even brighter.

"So... all that's left now is to go back to Ecton" I say and the two girls' faces light up even more than before.

"How do we get there?" Olivia asks curiously and I smile.

"Here" I say, holding out my hand to her. "You take my hand, Terri you take her other one, Breanna will take YOUR other one, and then me and Bre will join hands" I say, and they follow my instructions.

"One.. Two.. Three" i count down before there's a huge white flash and the familiar feeling of Teleprtation takes over me before we appear in the great building in Ecton.

Olivia and Terri look around breathlessly and Bre and I let go of their hands.

Before they have time to do anything or react, John, Michael and Jessica appear beside us with three unfamiliar kids around fourteen.

"Got 'em alright then?" I call to them and John rolls his eyes.

"Took some convincing, but they came around" He says back, making us all laugh.

"Who're they?" Olivia asks me in a whisper

"You'll find out soon" I respond, and there's another crack. I whirl around to see Morgan standing there with a shy looking girl with long brown hair and glasses. Josephine.

I run up to Morgan and hug her tightly.  
"Are you okay? Did you see anyone?" i ask frantically, looking her up and down.

"I'll tell you later" she says quietly just as my eyes land on a gash that runs from her ankle to her knee, the her torn blue jeans stained with so much blood it appears black.

I am suddenly filled with unreasonable rage towards Elizabeth who had insisted that Morgan went alone, no matter how much i disagreed.

"Elizabeth!" I shout out, turning around. As soon as her name is called, she appears at the bottom of the stairs.

"I told you that she shouldn't have gone alone! I told you! But did you listen? No! Because nobody listens to me here!" I growl, taking quick steps towards the gold woman.

"James, calm down. Now" Jessica says, rushing forwards and grabbing me around the waist before i get anywhere near Elizabeth.

"Look at her leg Jessica! Then tell me to calm do-"

"JAMES STRIKER YOU STOP YELLING AT HER RIGHT NOW!" Morgan yells. "Hang on Josephine, I just need to sort this out." she adds in a lower voice to the brunette and walks towards me, limping very noticably.

"Do NOT make a scene, it's just a cut-"

"Morgan, look at your bloody leg! You're loosing blood as we speak, you need to go to the hospital, what happened?!" I inturrupt her and she glares angrily at me.

"Nick saved me. Again. He said to tell you "He'll be at the same place, same time" and you'd know what he means. I saw BG members, they knew we were recruiting Silvers, James, they knew" She whispers and i freeze in place.

"Where are Summer, Connor and Max?" I ask her

"I don't know. They never really said much about whe-" she is cut off by a crack and six kids around the age of 13 and 14 tumble into the room. I immediatly recognise three of them to be Max, Connor and Summer.

"Sorry, trouble Teleporting" Max says, standing up and brushing dust off of his clothes. The other three kids, one who i recognise as Niki, stand up and look around the room in amazement. 

"What'd we miss?" Connor asks as Max takes his hand and helps him up.

"A lot" I say, glancing at Morgan subtly.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A few hours later, we are all settled in a group in the trianing hall, the Silver Fallens sitting on the floor and the nine of us standing up in front of them.

"Okay. I think introductions are neccessary" Morgan says, taking the lead by standing up straight in front of everyone. I hurry to her side and wrap my arm around her waist, taking the weight off of her bandaged leg.

"My name is Morgan. This is Summer, Michael, John, Breanna, Max, Connor, Jessica and James." she says, leaning on me as she gestures to each of us.

"Can you all please say your names when i point to you?" I ask, and point to the girl i don't recognise on the end of the line.

"Lily. Niki. Terri. Olivia. Jayden. Mark. Joe. Ayde. Harry." They each say when i point to them.

"You have all been choosen specially by each one of us, To be a Silver Fallen. We will each be your mentors. Can you each stand up and come to your mentors." I say and they all stand.

Olivia walks towards us, chin up high with Josephine walking shyly behind her. I see Niki rush quickly to Connor and Max, with the boy named Mark close behind her. Harry walks calmly to Summer, Lily and Joe wonder over to John and Michael, and Ayde and Terri stand quietly with Jessica and Breanna.

I look around and see that every single one of us is alive after wondering into BG territory, without any defense. Sure, Morgan got hurt and i'm still furious at Elizabeth, but we're all alive and... relitivly unscathed.

Myself, Morgan, Josephine and Olivia stand in one of the corners and Elizabeth reappears in the middle of the room with a gold tinted flash.

"You all have many hours of training ahead of you. While you are being taught the basics, Myself and my guards will be preparing your new houses." She says and whispers spread throughput all of us. Not even we were told about this. New houses?!

"New houses? We knew we were switching but new ones all together?" Jessica asks curiously and Elizabeth smiles.

"Yes. New ones all together. They are not all beside each other, unfortunately but they are near all your needs. Your jobs, Your schools, Jessica your university. Everything." She says and we all grin.

Within the next ten minutes, we are all in our seperate training rooms with our recruits.

Olivia looks around and shrugs out of her tan jacket before tossing it into the corner. She pulls up her knee length boots and striaghtens the collar of her shirt.

"So what now?" she asks, shaking her fists out.

"So now we train" I say, and position myself into a defensive stance. She shifts her weight onto her back foot and lifts her fists.

She throws a decent punch at me, and i duck to avoid it before I grab her fist, spinning it behind her.

"When you punch, bring it striaght back in" I say "Try again" i release her arm and step back agian.

This time, she punches better, but brings it back in to low, and i flick my wrist, a stream of light hitting her chest. She stumbles back, frowning.

"What the hell was that?" she asks and i laugh.

"Use your fallen, Olivia. That's why i gave it to you. It'll do what you want it to, as long as you believe in it" I tell her and she repositions herself.

"How?" she asks "How do I use it?"

"Think of something or someone that makes you happy, or angry, or makes you feel any strong emotion. Then just... think of what you want it to do" I say, holding my hand out palm up. From my palm, liquid light spills through my fingers and onto the floor.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY

 

WARNING:

This chapter is skipped ahead around a year, and this is where the story REALLY starts to get interesting :) -EREN

***

Monday, April 13th

***

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

"Good. Again!" i shout, catching Olivia's fists and then knocking her back a a few feet. A flash of purplish pink slight streaks towards my chest and i catch it mid air. "Ollie, you know that I can see it coming from a mile away when you do that." I roll my eyes and clench my fist around the light making Olivia wince and the light dissolve. 

"I'm sorry" she murmurs and I shrug. 

"Hey, its not a big deal. You're great at it usually. What's putting you off today?" i ask her, tossing her a bottle of water from the cubby beside me. 

"I'm worried about Josie and Morgan" She admits, popping the cap and downing a few mouthfuls. 

"They'll be back soon" I sigh, convincing myself more than her.

"They've never been gone this long, James. Admit it, you're worried about them too" she tells me and I hesitate for a second. 

"We all are" i say stiffly.

"But you especially. I'm right, aren't i?" she presses. 

"They've been gone almost six weeks. Of course I'm worried! Don't you think i miss Morgan in bed with me at night? Don't you think I hate hearing her little sister cry for her at night? Don't you think that i hate seeing the pain in Michael's eyes when he looks at me? Don't you think I hope, every single night that she'll come walking through the front door with her arm around Josephine like she would every other day?" I snap, making her flinch away. "I'm sorry for yelling. I don't like sharing my emotions." 

"But you do with Morgan." she says simply

"Leave it" I growl at her

"No! You've been avoiding the question for weeks-" She's suddenly cut off by a load alarm going off, snapping both of us into attack mode. 

I toss her jacket to her and she shrugs into it. 

"what do you think it is?" she asks, zipping hers up as I pull mine on and do the same

"No idea" i say simply and we both rush out of the training cubical and rush down the hall. We almost knock into Connor, Niki, Max and Mark rushing out of their cubicles. 

"They must be back?" Connor asks worriedly

"This is bigger than that" Max says and pushes the Silvers behind us as we near the main hall. 

There's a huge commotion, Silvers, Bronzes and even Elizabeth. 

"Elizabeth?! What's going on?" i hear John call. 

"You guys need to go. Now. Get the others, go back to the house and suit up. Tarabeth is a war zone." she tells us in a cold voice. 

"Morgan.." i whisper in sudden realisation.

"James, go back to the house an-"

"Morgan is in Tarabeth!" I yell and Max grabs my forearm as i move to rush into the crowd

"I know, James. But we can't help her by just standing here. We need to get ready. They'll send us into combat and then we'll find her." he mumbles into my ear and I relax, stepping back. 

"If she's dead," I glare at Elizabeth with purposeful hostility "I am holding you personally responsible."

Without another word, I turn and leave the training centre. We all run down the street, joined outside by Michael, Jessica, Summer and Breanna with their Silvers. 

"What the hell are we supposed to do with the strongest in our ranks missing in action?!" Max demands as we near our houses. 

"I've been asking myself the same thing the last four weeks, Max. I don't have a fucking clue" I admit, slowing to complete stop. 

"Well we need a plan, don't we?" Summer asks. "Are we just going to land in Tarabeth with no plan whatsoever? We'll be dead by dawn!" she exclaims, gesturing to the setting sun. 

"Listen, Summer, so you have the faintest idea of what we're supposed to do?! We have no idea what could be happening right now in Tarabeth! All they said is it's a war zone. We have no idea if Hartt is involved. If Gray is, they would have called on Hunt and Santha. What are we supposed to do if we're fighting against three worlds with two on our side. Tarabeth won't get involved. it's bad enough that their world is our damn battle ground!" I stress, pacing up and down the pavement, the others watching me worriedly. "they'd have every right to side against us. We have no hope of penetrating Gray nor do they have a chance of touching us."

"Elizabeth will come up with somethi-"

"Max, we can't rely on Elizabeth this time. We have to do this ourselves." i tell him firmly.

"Okay. I'm all ears" Jessica cuts in, stepping up. 

"Well... okay i have an idea. It's.. it's stupid and it might not work but it's an idea" 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"I have a plan.. well.. yes i have a plan but it's loose, and it could go wrong so easily" I say, covering myself while also sharing my thoughts.

"Well it's all we have so.. care to share?" Jessica breaks the awkward silence and everyones faces light up a little bit.

"We.. well Connor, you can shift worlds, yeah?" i ask, turning to the now 14 year old boy.

"I can" he nods

"Well.. so we can shift to Tarabeth. Not into combat just yet. We'll go north, to the town closest to wear Morgan and Josephine were dropped. After that, we ask around.. we move down South again, passing through every village for any leads at all. She could be virtually anywhere in Tarabeth and we have no means of communication with Her, Josie or Nick" I stumble over the words, trying to get them all out before anyone can say anything to disagree. "There's no way in hell i'm leaving that damn world until i have her in my arms, or the confirmation that's she's dead." I say in monotone. Michael flinches and i shoot an apologetic look his way. "I'm sorry but it's the reality."

"Okay. Okay we can't go in our training gear.. so we have to go in our combat gear. This is why i had this planned ahead i knew something like this would be coming soon, there's no such thing as eternal peace. Not on Earth, Gray, Tarabeth, Hartt, Hunt or Santh." Jess says, rushing inside. We all follow after her almost hesitantly and although i have full trust in Jessica, she scares me with her plans sometimes.

"Here" Jess says, handing us all bags and a bundle of dark clothing. I sit at the table next to Michael and sprawl everything out on the table.

A dark read cloak with a dark, armored collar. A black shirt made of thin but strong material and a slightly lighter, thicher vest. Black tracksuit pants.

"James," John starts cautiously as everyone moves out of sight to get changed.

"Mm?" I hmm in response to him, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I know.. I know you care about Morgan, A lot. And i know how much she means to you.. and i know the lengths you'll go to to save her but you need to be rational and you need to keep in mind the possibilty that she might be d-"

"John, don't you understand? What if it were Bre that was missing, aye? What if it was Bre that we had no confirmation of, no reason to believe she's even alive. How would you feel then?" I demand, keeping my voice dangerously calm.

"I... Look James i'm only-"

"Answer the damn question, John." I snap

"I'd... I don't know what i'd do. I'd do whatever i could to find her." he admits

"And at the moment, I can do anything. i WOULD do anything. i WILL." I yell at him, whirling around to face him. Suddenly i hear a loud crash and turn around to find the source. I realise that my bag is no longer in my hand but across the room on top of a smashed vase. "Shit" I mutter

"O... Okay. I get it. Whatever man just... stay safe. Stay alive. Keep your promise. And she'll keep hers" He says, backtracking and trying to calm me down. 

"whatever. Just get out of here" I mutter. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

The door at the bottom on the stairs slams open, revealing a furious Jess.

"What the hell is going on down here?!" she demands, Ayde relaxing his defensive position behind her.

"What does it sound like?" I mutter darkly and move across the room, grabbing my bag and carefully dusting the glass off of it.

"You screamed at John, and then smashed a glass!" She yells at me and i actually flinch back. "What is WRONG with you, James?! This isn't you!"

"Morgan, Josie and Nick are missing. There's a WAR in Tarabeth. Everything is falling apart all around us and YOU expect ME to be composed 24/7 when in reality, i'm still a kid! We all are!" I shout and she takes a deep breath, composing herself.

We're inturupted by a huge white-green flash of light and a cracking sound.

"That was someone shifting worlds" Connor yells from upstairs and comes almost tumbling down in his combat gear, Max close behind him.

"Connor!" He's calling "It could be someone from Gray!"

"The light was GREEN Max! Who else has a green tint?!" He shouts back

"He's right. He's right!" I am frozen in place as there is a sudden flurry of movement and three beaten, bloodied figures are brought into the house and laid down on the couches. Nobodies faces register in my mind, and i feel like i'm in a completely different world than everyone else in the room. Everyones voices melt togther and it just sounds like a hum, a ringing in my ears.

"James.." a faint, weak voice pierces through my thoughts "Where's James..."

There's a baby crying, and although i have no control, i can't help wondering who it is.

"We found her... in the woods.. days from death... couldn't leave her..." The same voice, sounding strained and urgent.

"Someone go upstairs and get Mark and Lily, Someone else- JAMES!" there's a yell, and i hear the thud before i feel it. Hard and sharp. Then blackness.

***

Muttering. Whispers. Hushed movements and a muffled thud.

"Shit..." comes a voice and I clench my fist around whatever is inside my hand. Warm, Soft and familiar.

"Jess! Jess he's awake!" another voice whisper-shouts. None of the voices make any sense to me, and i don't recognise any of them. But the name.. I know the name.

"Jessica... Where's... Morgan! She.. she was here! Where is she now?!" My voice comes out rough and dry, as if i hadn't spoken in days. My thoughts begin to make a little more sense and i find the right strength to open my eyes. Then everything makes sense. The wild red curls and the pale face.. the green eyes and the pink cheeks.

"I'm here... James you scared the shit of me!" her familiar voice making everything clear. Sharpening the shapes in the room. The black sky outside with silver dots scattered across it.

"You're... here... you're here..!" I choke out and try to sit up. She lets go of my hand and pushes down on my shoulders, telling me to lay down. I push against her slightly but soon realise that i'm not strong enough and give in.

"What happened?" I ask, my voice a little stronger. Only now, after looking properly at the girl in front of me, do i see the three red lines running from her forehead down the left side of her face to her jawline. And the bruises, scrapes and deep cuts on her bare arms. Her righr wrist wrapped thickly in a bandage. "why is it you're always wrapped in a bandage..." I mutter, stroking the white fabric. She pulls her arm away and hides it under her shirt.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You... Jess told me what happened.. I was out of it when you fell... it didn't register" She whispers soothingly.

"I don't even know what happened myself.. It was so fast.. There was.. Connor was yelling.. So was Max... a.. a lot of movement and then.." I frown and try to wrack my brain for whatever happened next. "I don't remember anything after that"

"You collapsed. I have no idea why. Connor was yelling about someone shifting worlds. Max ran after him. They came back in with Josie, Nick and Morgan. I don't think you even saw the injuries-"

"Injuries?" I inturupt. "What injuries were there that were SO bad that it could've caused me to pass out?" My mind jumps to conclusions and worry fills me.

"Bring them in. Show him" Jessica says, taking my side.

"What- No, Jess, they're-"

"Morgan, he wants to see" she says in a softer voice and Morgan hesitates for a second before getting up and leaving the room. "A pre warning James... They're... pretty bad. Morgan got off easy. Nicks lucky to be alive, the amount of blood he lost. Josie... well.. you'll see." she sighs and sits on the bed beside me. "They're all alive James. Not unscathed. Not even relitivly unscathed... But they're alive. They completed their mission"

"But it's not over yet" I whisper and she nods solemly.

"We're being sent to Tarabeth in two weeks time." she admits, looking down at her hands.

"It never ends... does it?" I close my eyes and sigh.

"Not yet.. it will one day.. but not yet" she tells me.

Morgan comes back a few minutes later, with the two others behind her. First, my eyes find the many cuts on her legs that i didn't notice before. Then i see Nick.

He's on crutches, A huge wrapped gash in his right leg, blood all but flowing through the bandage. His skin is unusually pale and the bones in his face stand out. His hair is a mess and his blue eyes, usually bright and shining are dull and grey. Just when i thought it couldn't get any worse, I look over at Josephine. She has three lines down one of her arms and bruises covering most of her arms, shoulders, collar bone and neck. I look a little lower and I freeze, shocked. A bloody red gauze is wrapped around her arm where it comes to a stump midway down her forearm. There are bruises and healing scrapes on her legs.

"What... happened?!" I demand, sitting up. My head in completely clear now, and i don't even get headrush.

"Unexpected combat" Nick says, his voice strained, perfectly matching his outer appearance. "We came across the battle feild..." he trails off.

"Josie.. Your..-"

"Arm. I know. Well.. I suppose it's an inconvenience.. thank god it's my left and not my right... still." she says almost casually. "Metal Fallens sting like a bitch though"

"Metal Fallens?!" I exclaim

"They have an entire army of 'em. Not hard to defeat... you just have to get in before they do. Get surprised by one and well... I was lucky" She says, shaking her shoulders out and wincing at the pressure on the bruises.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

A WEEK LATER

We sit to the side, watching Morgan and Josie training hand to hand.

Josie is getting better at hand to hand with only one, and she is winning almost every single fight. Not to mention when she's using her fallen. She was on a roll. 

Until we finally decide, for the first time ever, that the Silvers should have matches. 

Against each other.

***

"Niki. Niki vs Josephine. Let's do this!" I called as i leaned on the far wall, next to the board. The two girls stood up and walked over to the levelled podium.

"I'll go easy on you" Josephine smirked.

"Please, I can REALLY make you fight" Niki rolled her eyes.

"Hand to hand or Fallens?" Josephine called and i had laughed.

"One round of Hand to Hand, then Fallens." I told them and they'd positioned themselves to fight.

"And please, for gods sake, DON'T kill each other" I had rolled my eyes and sounded the buzzer.

The fight lasted a good ten to fifteen minutes on the even turf, though Niki got ahead sometimes, and Josie got ahead in others. But eventually, Josie slipped down to her knees, cupped her bloodied nose and called out, "Okay.. okay.. i'm done"

Niki dusted of her clothes and stepped back. "What'd i say?" she'd said with a smirk on her face.

"You are one cocky son of a bitch" Jessica had laughed which caused everyone, even the sparring girls, to join in.

***

I see Josie move her left arm to throw a punch, hesitate for a fraction of a second and then turn it into a kick instead.

"Hesitation will be the death of you Josephine!" I call out, pushing myself away from the wall and to the edge of the podium.

"If you can't already te-" she cuts herself off and ducks a badly aimed punch. "nevermind" she mutters under her breath and advances towards her. She throws a short, sharp jab which sends Morgan back a few feet. Then she kicks her leg out which catches her in the side. She kicks out again which is better aimed, and hits her in the side of the head, knocking her over. I flinch towards her but then make myself take a step back.

"Okay that was a good one" Morgan winces, touching her fingers lightly to her head.

"Don't fuck with the Brit" Josie laughs. 

"Not planning on it" Morgan laughs weakly and pulls herself to the edge of the podium. I grab her waist and lift her off and set her on the ground.

"Head alright?" I ask, pushing her hair back and examining the small mark.

"Fine actually, i've had worse" She shrugs and rubs the mark lightly.

"You gotta keep yourself relatively unscathed for next week..." I frown and she smiles lightly, touching two of her fingers to my furrowed brow. I smooth out my expression and her smile turns into a grin.

"I'm fine, really" she says and rolls her shoulders, flexing her arms. "Ready for round two?" she asks Josie and she grins brightly. Morgan climbs back up onto the podium and I walk back until i reach the wall again and slide down till i'm sitting.

Harry and Ayde come and sit across from me casually and i find myself lost in conversation, half keeping an eye on Morgan and Josies fight.

I glance over to Lily and Mark, who are sitting face to face with the baby named Bonnie sitting on Lilys lap.

"Hey, Ayde?" i ask suddenly, after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Mark and Lily... is Bonnie really living with them?"

"Yeah... and with Terri" he says, looking away when he says Terri's name. I call no attention to it, even though the thought lingers in my mind for a few minutes.

"I wonder how they do it... I wonder how they take the responsibilty so well.." I trail off "Morgan and Michael did it with Kylie and Hannah too..."

"Some people.. just have that knack, yknow? Like you do with hand to hand. Like Harry does with his Fallen. They're just good with kids" he shrugs

"I suppose so.." I mutter in response, watching the two fourteen year olds with the small baby. Mark and Lily look up at eachother and smile before bursting into laughter. Even Bonnie joins in with her high giggles.

"Happiness is so rare at the moment.. don't you think?" Harry chimes in "It's good to see it blooming"

"I see mine right now" Ayde whispers and i glance at the two to see Ayde gazing at Harry who is looking away, with the outer most LOVE i have ever seen on someone.

"I think that... there's happiness everywhere. We're all alive, aren't we? We've lost a forearm and bitta blood, but here we all are. Together" I say, taking in a huge breath and pulling my knees up to my chest before standing up. I reach to my left and press the buzzer, which calls everyones attention to me.

"Can everyone please come and sit down?" i call and within seconds, i have all seventeen of my team mates sitting in front of me along with the attention of a few wondering Silvers.

"As you all know.. we're being dropped in Tarabeth next Thursday.." I begin, leaning on the wall. In the corner of my eye, I see Max take Connors hand, and Connor relaxes into his side. "And... some of us might be loosing some loved ones... Not just in this group, but from the school as well. From friends you might have met at the mall.. to your best friend sitting right beside you. I will do anything, and i mean ANYTHING, to make sure not a single person here dies." I say. "War.. is not what we were looking for in Ecton. In fact, it's what we were supposed to prevent. But.. this is what fate had in store, and now we fight it with itself. Fate against fate has no... defined outcome. We could very well lose. But we could win. We could pull through. We have an army of thousands of Fallen Protectors and Fallen Holders on our side. We're the Fallens of our generation, Dammit! We're the strongest people in the known universe. Our powers, second only to Elizabeth Groffs, are the key to peace of Ecton."

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

The street outside of our houses, are filled with an asortment of Fallens, Silvers and Bronzes. Mark and Lily are to one side, standing quietly with their foreheads pressed together and Bonnie in between them, whispering between themselves. Jessica, Ayde, Summer and Lily are sitting on the sidewalk together, talking solemly and almost sadly.

John is talking to Bre, Harry and Terri not far behind them. Max has his arms around Connor and his lips pressed to his forehead. Niki and Joe are sat in silence, hugging tightly. Josie and Olivia are in the doorway of our house, talking almost casually.

"Morgan... we're kids. Being sent to fight adults." I whisper, looking around at our group of friends.

"We have to do this" she says firmly, spinning me around to look her in the face. "For everyone here. We... we have to try" she almost breaks then, her voice shaking.

"I know and we will, i promise. But we... we're kids.." I say almost desperately.

"We're strong. We're trained. This is what we were born to do! This is what we've been waiting for, since we arrive here a year and a half ago. And we are going to do it. And we will win. You hear me?" she doesn't raise her voice above a whisper, but even then i can hear it break in some places. Without another word, i pull her against my chest and wrap my arms around her tightly. She melts against me and buries her face in my chest, breathing quickly. 

Within seconds, her entire attitude changes.

"I'm scared" she whimpers "I'm really really scared! What if i die? What will Hannah and Kylie do then?! And the kids.. they're.. they.. I..." she trails off and i feel her hot tears dampen my teeshirt. I rub circles on her back and rest my chin on her head, closing my eyes.

"We are kids.. we're all scared... some of us might die.. i don't know who, i don't know how and i don't know when... but it's a possibility. I'm going to try my damn hardest to make sure that doesn't happen." I whisper

"But.. You have to keep yourself safe as well..." She says, her tone turning serious.

We're inturupted by the arrival of the four Bronze bloods who will be looking after the youngest children.

I pull away from Morgan and stride towards them.

"James Striker" I say, falling into professional patterns.

"Holly Teo" Says one of them, a tall, dark haired Woman. "This is Jade Teo, Fred Julio and Nani Klose" she says. The one named Jade smiles and i nod in achknowledgment.

"Morgan Dove" Morgans voice comes from behind me and I jump slightly.

"Kylie! Bring Hannah! Lily, bring Bonnie!" I yell suddenly and the four of them barely flinch. Within a few seconds, Kylie is there, holding hands with the one-and-a-half year old. I look behind me to see Mark kiss the top of Bonnies head before Lily makes her way over with her. It clicks that the four adults are teaches from the school and/or the kindygarten. So hannah Immediatly recognises her. And so does Kylie. Bonnie however.. Is skeptical. She hides her face in Lily's hair "No Mamma" she says sternly and Lily laughs slightly, sounding forced and dry.

"Honey, you have to go. Mammas gonna go do some stuff" I raise my eyebrows at her at the reference of 'mamma' but she brushes me off. huh. Bonnie hesitates for a few seconds though but then goes happily into the arms of Nani.

"So... would you.. Um... please take care of her" Lily whispers and kisses Bonnie's head.

"Of course" Nani says

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Kylie says, accepting her when Bonnies leans towards her from Nani. "And i'll make sure of it". Lily nods and leaves quickly before the tears in her eyes spill over onto her cheeks.

***

"James, I just wanna say goodb-" I cut her off by shaking my head.

"Goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."

"We might not survive this" she presses, standing up on her tiptoes to be the same height as me. 

"We. Will. Live!" I growl, grabbing her shoulders.

"We. Might. Not!" She retaliates and a very familiar, hard look comes over her. Her bright eyes turn stern and her smile turns to a hard line. "You can't guarantee that, James" she says in a quieter voice, steering me away from all the people outside, into our living room. "I'VE seen what it was like there two weeks ago. It WILL be worse now. And there is no way we're getting in and out of this without a single death. You can't save everyone. And as much as i hate to admit it, neither can I. So just listen to me!" she demands and i fall silent. She seems to be waiting for some kind of confirmation that i'm listening so i nod and she takes a deep breath. "You mean so much to me. More than i can even begin to describe. Every second i was away i was thinking of you, jumping to conclusions and imagining any weird and risky things you could be doing. I was angry with myself for leaving but the selfless part of me shut that voice up and locked it in a chest deep in my mind. I wanted to leave the second i had my hand on Nicks shoulder, but i wasn't strong enough. And then we found Bonnie. We had to recover.. heal... and...- anyway, my point is, James, you mean so much to me. I can't live without you. I feelings towards may exceed friendship.. I don't know what it is but it's been like this for awhile and I've been trying to find a time to tell you but with everything going crazy in the last almsost two years, i almost completely forgot about it myself. I... I love you. I think-" I take not only her but myself by surprise by smashing my lips into hers, pulling her close to me. Inside of pushing me away like i thought she would, she melts into the kiss and i feel her arms come around my waist. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Shifting and spinning.

The worlds change. Trees are sprouting and towering fifty feet through the concrete and vines hang from nothing in the sky. Grass growing and folding beneath our feet, spreading across the road like a wildfire.

Darkness spreads across the sky and changes the sun to the moon. The people standing all around us slowly disappear into thin air, being replaced my curious animals wondering how these nineteen humans are materialising in the middle of their forest.

As soon as our surroundings solidify, my knees give out from beneath me and I fall to the ground. I clutch my head in my hands and squeeze my eyes closed. I hear a dozen muted thuds and guess that everybody else has fallen along with me.

"The first time is.. not the most fun" Morgan breathes, using a tree as support. I open my eyes and glance up at the red head, an almost sarcastic look on my face.

"You don't say" I mutter and slowly stand up, crouching first, before standing all the way up.

"I did the best I could" She says helplessly and I make my way over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and I kiss her forehead while nobody else is looking.

"I know, it was really good" I tell her.

After a few minutes, Everybody is standing and is in a somewhat stable condition.

"we should probably stay here for tonight.." John says, pushing his hair from his face and looking up at the sky.

"I'd say that it's... around 11pm here if we left at 1pm" Connor dusts off his clothes while Max checks him over, making sure he's got no injuries. At the same time, Connor subtly looks Max up and down to check for the same thing, not that he'd ever admit it.

"Wow.. the time difference" John mutters

"we... we need something for a fire" Connor says "I can make the fire but i can't keep it going without fuel"

John, Michael, Jessica, Summer and Breanna get up with their silvers to follow Max, Connor, Joseph and Mark into the forest for wood. We settle into the large roots of a tree, finding small nooks to sit in. After searching through each of the packs for some kind of tarps, we tie them in the tree branches as close to the ground as we can get it. We settle ourselves in and find a place in the roots to sit in, and I pull Morgan into my lap, resting both our bags on the ground beside us. I wrap my arms around her and she lays her head on my chest.

"There's really no going back now is there?" Olivia whispers to my left, sounding more scared than i've ever heard her.

"No, There's not" I sigh and run my fingers through Morgans carefully tamed curls. Not that it would last long.

"Does this ever end?" She asks, almost hopefully

"It does end... but not yet" As i'm finishing my sentence, everybody walks back into the small clearing with wood in their arms, Josephine balancing as much as she can. Morgan, being herself, immediatly gets up to help and i watch after her with a small smile.

Josie comes and squats on a branch beside me. She rolls her shoulder and frowns slightly at the stump of her arm but then smooths out her expression.

"This is taking some getting used to" she mutters and then moves off to find her own little nook.

It only gets darker, and lean against a tree trunk, skimming my eyes over everyone sleeping in the roots of the tree and on the ground. The fire burns in a circle of rocks, illuminating the faces of the sleeping teenagers. My eyes hover over Mark asleep with his arms wrapped around Lily protectively, before darting to Connor with his head resting on Max's chest, Max's fingers subcinciously running his fingers through Connor hair while he goes to sleep.

"What's the plan?" Morgans voice makes me jump, and I snap my head around to see her leaning beside me.

"We... We pack up everything as soon as the sun rises. Leave no trace that we were ever here, Summer can scatter the ashes of the fire and you can regrow the grass. And then... we set of for the nearest village. If we're lucky, there'll be something there waiting for us. otherwise... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." I mumble, looking back at my team mates.

Around an hour and a half later, I wake John for his shift, and I settle into my place i had claimed earlier. Only a few seconds later, Morgan finds her way onto my lap and falls asleep on my chest. 

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

I wake up to a piercing scream, and i'm immediately wide awake, sitting up so suddenly that it wakes Morgan who was, until this moment, still asleep. Max, who was the one who was on guard, is already poised to attack, his eyes quickly flicking to Connor before he takes a few steps towards the sound. I jump up and run to him, shoving him back behind me.

"Stay here" I hiss, and then look up, my eyes adjusting to the early early morning light. It must be around 5am now. I take quick but careful steps and keep my eyes open, lighting up my way as I go. When i here the rustling of leaves and another scream, this time muffled, I cut the light and focus on the sound. Finally, I come to a clearing, a little smaller than the one we had camped in, but still big enough to hold a handful of people.

There are two people in this clearing. One is on the ground, and as far as i can tell, is a girl. The other is taller, broader and hooded. A man, maybe.

"Hey!" I call out and the screaming ceases abruptly. The taller one turns around sharply and makes direct eye contact with me.

Before i can do anything, vines, the kind with long thorns, sprout from the ground and wrap tightly around his legs and torso, the thorns digging and cutting into his skin.

Morgan appears beside me and I almost sigh in relief, since I hadn't really thought past distracting him. Then, A blonde appears to my right and the girl on the ground is pulled towards us by an unknown force. The blonde, who i now gather to be Summer, gathers her up and carries her limp body back in the direction of our camp without having to be asked.

The man cries out in pain and falls to the ground. I shoot out some light and his face is revealed, showing a Man, a boy really. Around 18 or 19. But his eyes are black, and I immediately recognise the takeover. I rush over to him and fall to my knees beside him. I grab his shirt and keep him against the ground.

"What were you doing to her" I growl

"I was following orders!" He chokes out, trying to grab at the vines around him. Blood begins to stain his pants.

"Cut it, Morgan" I snap and the vines retreat. He sighs in relief and I stand up pulling him with me.

"What were your orders?" I ask

"Ki- Kill the girl"

"Why?"

"She was hiding- In a basement, She- She has a fallen"

"So do I" I say and he flinches "I'm going to let you go now. And you're going to go back to your camp, and tell them you killed the girl and fed her to the wild animals. And you won't say a thing about me, alright?"

"Yes sir"

"what're you going to do?"

"Go back to the sergeant. I killed the girl, and fed her to the animals, and I've never seen your face in my life" he stutters

"Exactly" I shove him in the opposite direction and he stumbles for a moment before flat out sprinting away. I dust off my hands and then turn back to Morgan.

"Let's go see what this girls about" she mutters and we jog steadily back to the camp.

We get back to the camp to see Jessica working expertly over the girl we found, and she's leaning against a tree with a damp piece of cloth on her head.

"What's your name?" I ask, crouching beside her.

"My name- My name? my name... is Isabella" She breathes, wincing when Jess presses on her side.

"She had something pierce her.. Something, I don't know what" Jess stresses. Nick suddenly appears by her side

"Let me see" he demands, and Jess lifts her shirt up. Isabella seems to be either to tired or to sore to resist, and I see three long, deep cuts on her sides.

"Metal Fallens" Morgan whispers "We just let a Metal Fallen escape" she turns to look at me with absolute horror in her eyes and I take her into my arms immediately.

"Jess can you heal her?" I ask

"I can" Nick cuts in and presses his hands to the cuts without a second thought. At the sound of Isabella's cry of pain, Morgans lurches out and tries to stop Nick. Remembering his healing powers, I hold her back and cover her ears as she cries out again and again as Nick works his magic.

About two minutes later, Nick pulls his hands away. There's still blood, but now it seems to have no source other then three faint, closed lines. Isabella is still sobbing when Jess releases her Iron grip on her arms, and she falls to the ground, sweat beading on her forehead. 

"That should do." Nick nods to himself

"Now what do we do with her?" Connor asks in a whisper. 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

 

I watch the girl, who seems to be strength, lay stretched out on a blanket on the ground. Maybe our moving on would be delayed for a day, Maybe two. Connor has fallen asleep in Max's arms, and Breanna is sitting in a gap in the roots, running her fingers through her hair with a look of distaste on her face. Summer is with Jessica, cleaning the blood off of the rags and bandages from the previous hours of healing the girl.

"That girl," Morgans voice suddenly says from behind me "Isabella"

"Yeah? What about her?" I ask, sliding my knives in and out of my belt.

"You think we can trust her?" she asks, worming her way under my arm and leaning her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and rest my chin on her head, not taking my eyes off of Isabella.

"Maybe. She has no choice but to do what we ask, and if a Fallen Seeker was trying to kill her, then she must be a Fallen Keeper." I sigh

"She can't use her Fallen, even if she had one, right? Only The Fallen Nine, Fallen Seekers, Fallen Soldiers and Silvers can use them" she states and I nod, then remembering that she isn't looking at me, I mumble,

"Yeah, yeah that's right."

"So... she's no danger to us?"

"Yet"

"Yet.... meaning?"

"She could be a soldier. Or a Seeker"

"Right"

Morgan is silent after that, and she goes a little off balance. I secure my arms around her and lower her to the ground.

"hey, are you okay?" I ask softly, lifting her face to look at me. Only now do I see how drained she is. Black circles under her eyes and pale skin.

"Morgan have you eaten yet?" I ask "you were only hurt two weeks ago, you still need to take extra good care of yourself"

She shakes her head, No. She hasn't eaten.

I rumage through my bag and pull out a granola bar, the first thing i can find. I stuff it into her hands.

"Eat this, now. I'll get you some water" I stand up and fetch a drink bottle from near the burnt out fire, then bring it back to Morgan. Crouching down in front of her, I hand it to her.

"Here" She takes it gladly and uses it to wash down the harsh bar. "You need to take better care of yourself. Eat enough, Drink enough, rest enough. Don't move around too much, make sure you can fall back. Be careful, avoid conflict-"

"No." She says instantly and I sigh, grabbing her hands.

"Morgan, Yes."

"James, No! There's no way I can avoid conflict, as much as you hate it, everyone here is needed." She tells me sternly. Her voice makes the mistake of faltering. And it's not a detail that I miss. In fact, I far from miss it.

"I'm asking you this, Please, For me. Avoid it if you can. I don't need you hurt again" I cup her cheek in my hand and glide my thumb softly across her cheek, back and forth. At this, she bursts into tears.

"Oh baby, it's okay" I say helplessly and gather her into my arms, pulling her on my lap so that I can wrap my cloak around her. I sway us slightly, rubbing her circles into her back while she cries.

"Shh.... It's gonna be okay Morgan, I promise" I whisper. Connor has now woken, and Is frowning at us.

'is she okay?' he mouths and I nod minutely.

'scared' I mouth back and he nods, his features softening. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"We need to move" John speaks up after a few hours, when the sun is high in the sky.

"They'll figure it out eventually, why the faous 'Fallen Nine' hasn't shown up within a few days. And we'll be two steps ahead of them. Or... hopefully more like a couple hundred steps. In front of them. Away from them" says Michael, his attempt at feeble humour falling flat, earning only a smile from his twin sister.

"Nick," I begin, turning to find him to see him behind me already. "A word?" He nods and I lead him behind a large tree, reluctantly leaving Morgan.

"It's not often i'll ever ask of this. But keep an eye on Morgan. I'll be asking everyone. Just make sure she doesn't push herself and risk her own life. Please?" I plead, and he immediatly nods.

"Of course" with that, we make our way back to the others and begin gathering everything up. Morgan is trying to convince MIchael to let her regrow the grass beneath the ashes that Summer has removed and scattered throughout the forest around us, so as to leave no trace that we were even here, But Michael is insisting that she instead helps Bre take the tarps down. Eventually, she gives in with a huff and I supress a laugh.

I shake my head slightly as if to clear it and move away to help Jess distribute all of our resources between all the bags. I keep one eye of Isabella, who is now stirring, and Jess tells me to go and see her. Hesitantly, I make my way to her and sit on the ground beside where she is laying.

Slowly, she opens her eyes and squints in the sunslight.

"Hey" I say stupidly, spitting out the word as it comes to mind. Even she seems taken aback.

"Hey?" she groans, sitting up. I'll admit, it seems awkward. I don't know her, and I don't really care to. She gives me a weird feeling. I don't like her.

"How're you feeling?" I ask politely and she shrugs.

"Better, I guess." the conversation falls flat and I wrack my brain for something. If i go, Jess will just send me back.

"What were you doing in a basement?"

"Huh?"

"That's where the soldier found you. What were you doing there?"

"Oh" she coughs. "Hiding"

"From...?" I urge

"Soldiers." She says vaguely

"Listen, whatever your name is- Isabella. You're not helping here. You're pushing me more towards dumping you in the middle of the woods and leaving you there. Or just killing you, that'd be easier then dealing with the consequences if you found your way." I'm bluffing, but she can't tell and i can see her panic in her eyes, behind the mask she's painted onto her face.

"I- Was hiding from Soldiers in my friends basement, I insisted that I found my own hiding spot but they made me stay, they were so kind... But the soldiers found me. They killed all three of her sisters, her, and her parents to get to me. I feel so guilty... they died because of me" She stutters

"Why were the soldiers looking for you?" I ask calmly

"Because... I'm... Like... You" she says reluctantly

"You're from Earth?"

She shakes her head.

"Ecton?"

Again.

"We're not from the same place?"

Another head shake.

"You have a fallen." I say. It's not a question. It's a statement,

This time, she nods. There's a flicker of gold in her eyes and my hand jerks to the handle of one of my knives in my belt. She flinches back at this.

"You're from gray" I growl, shifting into a crouch.

"No! No no no I'm not!" she cries helplessly. This catches a few of the others attention and when they see my position, I hear a few knives unsheath, and the crackle of Jessicas magic.

"Then where?" I demand. "Obviously not here, Fallens aren't born here"

"Hunt! Hunt. I'm from Hunt." she pushes herself backwards and vines, not unlike the ones used on the soldier, sprout from the ground and wrap around her ankles. At this, she cries out in pain.

"Not the thorns, Morgan" I snap and the vines turn smooth, but they tighten around her. Blood still flows, staining the hems of the girls grey jeans. Not enough to severely damage her though.

"Okay. You're from Hunt. You have a fallen. What kind?" I breathe, trying to stay calm.

"Metal... It's metal"

I slide my knife from it's sheath and hold it in one hand, rolling back onto the balls of my feet before standing straight up.

"She's not a threat" Jessica whispers in my ear, pulling my arm, telling me to back off.

"She could be" I hiss "trusting her puts us all in danger"

"So was trusting me" Nick speaks up. I turn on him.

"YOU are my brother. I knew we could. I knew you would pull through. Her? She's a kid that has a metal fallen and very obviously is a threat. What the fuck am I supposed to make of this" it takes me until I'm finished my rant to realise that everybody is staring at Isabella behind me. Confused, I slowly turn around.

She has her hoodie sleeve pulled up. On her tricep, three letters are burnt into her arm.

WHA.

"With Hardt" Nick says, almost like he's satisfied with what he's seeing.

"You're a traitor to Hunt?" Max breathes.

"Hunt was taken over my Gray when I was younger. The takeover... it doesn't work on me. They didn't know why, so they conducted experiments on me and a group of others, the others were like me. The takeover didn't work. They think it's because of my Fallen-"

"It's not" I say coldly "The takeover works on myself, and everyone else here. We all have Fallen. If it were your Fallen, it wouldn't work on us either"

"Then they were wrong. I was the youngest in the facility and after i turned thirteen, everyone planned a mass breakout. I don't know how many people died, or how many got away. I know that at least myself and two others did. Maybe more. I ran and ran and ran and I found a camp out where there were a few people. I didn't recognise them so I hope that maybe they wouldn't recognise me...." 

//ISABELLA//

I stumble into the clearing, A large, artificial looking fire raging in the centre of a circle of people. I recognise none. 'maybe... maybe they can help me...' i think.

I wince at the burning on my arm when I roll my shoulders. Two of the six or seven people sitting turn their head to look at me.

"What are you doing, girl?" One snaps and i take a step back.

"I escaped a facility, I don't know where I am, they were hurting me-" Suddenly, They get up and advance towards me - aggresively.

Without thinking, I throw my hands out in front of me and bright gold shoots through the air and through the two people in front of me. After a moment, they fall to the ground with a thunk. The gold then dissolves into thin air.

'I just killed them' I think in horror

This gathers the attention of the others and I take another step back. This time, I carefully aim and shoot gold through all of their chests, killing them instantly. For a split second, my vision seems to be tinted gold. I panic and fall back onto the grass, my breathing speeding right up before I feel myself get dizzy and everything goes black.

//NORMAL//

"and... that's what happened" Isabella finishes and I stand, staring open mouthed at her.

"Listen to me Isabella, and listen to me closely, Okay?" Nicks voice cuts into my thoughts as he rushes towards her and crouches down.

"O-okay" she stutters

"That facility, what was it called?" He asks

"Kilder" She says immediately.

"Fuck!" Nick yells loudly, and she flinches back. He gets up and punches the tree that Isabella is leaning against.

"Nick?" I ask slowly "Nick, what's wrong?"

"Jaime was in that Facility!" He shouts

"Who's Jaime...?" I ask

"Jaime was a girl, one that was in Gray with me. The takeover didn't work on her either, they tried for years and years. Her screams always echoed through my quarters, and the guards laughed about it. One day, Early in my takeover, before it took my will. Maybe when we were thirteen. I snuck into her cell, and I brought her food. She had bruises on every inch of her face, scratches on her arms, broken bones. She was on the verge of death. But her eyes stood out to me. They were golden-brown. Something about them... I couldn't bare to see them do this to her. Every day after that, after the guards left, between them switching shifts, I would sneak in with food and water, sometimes I would stay and talk to her. I learnt so much about her. Everything.... I fell in love with her. And she fell in love with me. And then they took my will away, and they took her away. Around the same time. I still wonder if that's why they took the takeover to that level. They took her away and the screams stopped. I asked the guards one day, saying that i was merely curious, which was partially true because they erased almost every memory of her from my mind. They told me they took her to an institute for the 'broken ones'...." Nicks voice trails into nothing, his breath catching in his throat. He gathers himself and crouches back beside Isabella.

"I knew Jaime" Isabella whispers. "She was the eldest, though she came later then the others... She was kind"

"Do you know if she escaped?"

Isabella nods. "She was one of the other two who... I know got out. I don't know if she's still alive but she escaped."

"I have to find her-"

"I know she came here, We all planned to come here. We were going to meet somewhere-" she gasps " We were going to meet somewhere! We can find them! Nick, You and me, we can go and Find the two of them! Jaime and Grace-"

"Where? Where were you going to meet her?"

"Grayson! I was there, I was there... But I didn't get to the park, I didn't get to St Jamesons park" She stresses. Nick immediately helps her up, helping her stand.

"We need to go" Nick pleads, looking around at all of us. Then everyone looks at me. I think for a moment. And... then I nod.

"Get everything together. Olivia, Mark, Find the way to Grayson. Let's move." I instruct, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

One thing i did not anticipate, was how hard it would be to move nineteen, now twenty people through a forest without drawing attention to ourselves.

Olivia and Josephine fall into step on either side of me and I prepare myself for questions.

"You wanna share the plan?" Olivia asks, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"I don't... really have one" I admit, "We're gonna get to Jameson park, See if those girls are there, we're obviously going to have to take Jaime with us, It's that or lose Nick from our forces. We have our training uniforms, right?"

"Yeah"

"One goes to Isabella and one to Jaime, Because if we have any, we only have two. The other girl might have to go without unless we can find a training centre with any here. No promises though. We make our way through the city, and we'll see if there's any refugee camps we can help however we can. If they want it."

"Sounds like a plan" She grins and then skips ahead with Josie at her side.

A few meters in front of me, I see Lily jump playfully on Marks back and he wraps his arms around her legs to keep her up. I hear them laughing and I can't help but smile when Josie, Olivia, Ayde and Harry laugh with them, now jumping on eachothers backs and tackling one another.

"This is good" Morgan says from beside me, taking my hand and lacing her fingers through mine. "This is good, they can still have their fun while they still can. They're more kids then we are, and they know what we're walking into"

I want to tell them to be quiet, but i can't bring myself to. They look so happy..

"James, Everything is going to be okay" she whispers "I know it is"

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"I see the town!" Harry calls from beside Mark, pointing through the trees. Lily has fallen asleep on Marks back, her head buried in his neck. I skip forwards and shake her arm lightly.

"Lily, come on we're there" I know she barely gets any sleep anyway, and I decide to just leave her when she doesn't wake up. "Do you want me to carry her?" I ask Mark

"No, It's okay. She's comfortable" He smiles and I look up.

The town is more of a village, a cluster of burnt and torn buildings, with a feild of muddy grass in the middle of it.

"That's Jameson park. I was hidden in a basement that way" Isabella says, pointing into the distance on the other side of the park.

"Lay low. Olivia, Josie, Cover Mark and Lily." I say, skipping down a small back before ducking behind a half destroyed buidling which looked to be a store of some sorts. I know i'm being followed by the sound of gravel crunching behind me and I keep walking, making my way through the street that leads to the park. We fall into a steady jog, even Mark keeps up even though he has a still-sleeping Lily on his back.

As soon as my feet land on the soft, wet grass I sigh in relief. Even though I know there's no real risk in this village, It's nerve racking to be out in the open.

"Where would they have gone?" I ask

"The trees, they'd have gone undercover" Isabella sounds breathless, and I realise that her injuries from this morning will still have a large effect on her performance.

"Okay, let's go" I say, making my way into the trees at the far end of the park. I'm only a few feet from the trees when I blurred light that seems to be shimmering shoots from the trees and almost hits me square in the chest, if not for the square of ice in front of me.

"Jesus, James" Max calls and I let out a breath and finally flinch back, a few seconds delayed.

"I didn't even see tha- wha?" I stutter and see Isabella stumble forwards towards me. I grab her arm and straighten her up

"What are you doing?!" I hiss and she struggles against me

"Grace!" she calls "Jaime!"

"Isabella?" comes the voice of a young girl, and someone comes into view, with feiry yellow hair and red eyes to add to it.

"Grace!" I let go of Isabellas arm and she stumbles towards the girl. I just stare at them as The feiry girl helps Isabella to her feet.

"I saw them carry you away! How are you here?!" she exclaims, looking Isabella up and down for injuries. "Who are these peop- Nick?"

"Yes, yes Grace it's me, who got out?" Nick rushes forwards and i watch, confused.

"Jaime! You have a visitor" Grace calls out without taking her eyes off of the rest of us. Then another girl comes out of the trees, platinum blonde hair covered with a cap, pulled low over her blue eyes.

She has on a huge jumper that covers her hands and almost goes down to her knees but still covers her up to her neck. Underneath she has ripped white washed jeans and black sneakers. When her eyes land on Nick, her face lights up and see that she is actually very pretty.

"Nick" she says simply, almost unbelieving

"You're alive" His voice breaks and he wallks forwards slowly. When he reaches her, He lifts the cap off her head, letting the rest of her hair fall down, though it only goes to about her shoulders. "I thought I told you I didn't like it when you covered your hair" he whispers to her. That makes her break and she collapses into his arms. He lifts her up, bridal style and nods at all of us.

"This is my brother, James. The one that I told you escaped. His team: Morgan and Josephine, Fallens of Earth. Michael and Mark, the other two Earths. Him and Olivia, Fallens of Light. Breanna and Terri, Fallens of Temptation and Influence. John and Lily, Fallens of Water. Jessica and Ayde, Fallens of Magic. Summer and Anne, Fallens of Telikanesis. Max and Harry, Fallens of Ice. Connor and Niki, Fallens of Fire. They're the Fallen Nine and their Silvers. You know my Fallen, Healing." He explains, nodding to each of us.

I step forwards and hold out my hand.

"We're on your side. We saved Isabella from a Seeker, healed her. We helped her find you, and we could use the extra help from any fallens we can get. If you trust us" Grace just stares at me for a second before taking my hand and shaking it.

"We'd be happy to help. My name is Grace Tersa. That is Jaime Pearse. In our hold up we have one injured, her name is Haisley Jameson, she was the daughter of the mayor of this town. But since the takeover didn't work on her, they took her. Same institution. We also have two more named Kim Nani and Anna Huia" As she talks, she gestures for me to follow, and we all do. Into the trees and to a creek. You have to jump down a ditch to get to creek and in the ditch, hidden from view, is a cave of sorts. Though it looks to smooth to be natural, like it had been dug out. it's about 6 feet high, 10 feet long ways and 5 or 6 feet wide. A fire, way at the back burns low and in the light, I see three girls. The one laying on the ground I guess to be Haisley Jameson and the other two must be Nani and Anna.

"It was a girls institute, if you haven't already picket that up" Isabella whispers to me. Grace gestures for us to sit, and we do. Though, Isabella makes her way to the back of the cave only to be enveloped in the others girls' arms.

I look back at Grace, leaning against the wall across from us.

"It's not much, and we're running low on everything we have. Food, Water, Wood, Clothing. Everything" she sighs.

Jessica shrugs off her pack and I follow, knowing exactly what she's going to say.

"We can help you" Jess says, and opens her back. "We have more then enough, and we can easily find more"

"really?" Grace asks hopefully, crouching in front of her.

"We don't have much in the way of clothing, but we have food and water and jackets and we have two Fallens of fire, but we'll still need feul for the fire, which Morgan can easily dry out from the creek." Jess rambles, trying her hardest to gain their trust. "Along with medical kits, and Nick, Nick can heal Haisley" I add

"Nick, would you?" Grace asks and He nods, immediately getting up to go to the girl.

"It'll hurt for a moment, okay? It'll hurt real bad, but then it'll go away, that's how it works. It'll speed the healing process right up, the white blood cells will move faster, which is why it'll hurt more for a little bit" I hear him telling the four girls at the end of the cave, his voice soft and caring.

Jessica is unpacking everything, showing her what we have to offer.

"You guys came prepared" Grace says, impressed.

"We didn't know when we'd get to restock anything. We need to get to the capital and find a small base somewhere far from battle. And store everything, go in, help fight."

"We have a base spot, in the capital. It means going through so much battle to get there though, and It's currently empty. It has beds, food and running water." Grace says, already getting her things together.

"Anna! Nani!" She calls and the two girls are at her side in an instant. Only now am I realising that they are both Asian, with very pretty features.

"Kim Nani, Anna Huia; this is the Fallen Nine. This is Anna Huia, or just Anna, and Kim Nani, or just Nani." they nod in acknowledgement and I nod back. "we leave at nightfall for Georgia." Grace tells them.

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"How are your injuries?" Nick asks Haisley, helping her up after she trips over a root sticking out of the ground.

"Fine, You did an excellent job" She says in her thick English accent.

"You can move your legs okay?" He checks

"Yes, I can" She assures him and then secures her bag on her back, walking ahead to show him that she can. Nick nods to himself and then falls back into step beside Jaime, taking her hand in his.

"Your cuts doing alright?" I ask Isabella

"Better then this morning" She says, flexing her arms and stretching her torso. "I can move more smoothly now, it doesn't hurt as much"

"That's good, i'd still say avoid combat though, At least until they aren't bruised." I tell her and she puts on a pained expression.

"As if" she scoffs "And let you have all the fun?" She teases and I laugh at her

"Fun? Oh no, it's much better then that. Exhiliration!" I say, putting on my story telling voice.

"The Fallen Nine, and gathered comrads" Morgan continues in a matching voice, laughing throughout the sentence

"Finding their way through a world, scattered with wars" John adds

"Cutting through forests, sailing through oceans" Michael laughs

"Through blistering cold and scorching deserts" Summer says, quoting shrek and making everybody laugh even harder.

"This Spring, Join us in the adventures of..." I hint and then everybody, excluding Grace, Jaime, Isabella, Haisley, Anna and Nani yells,

"The Fallen Nine!"

My cheeks begin to hurt from laughing so much and In hat moment, I wish it could last forever. But of course, God forbid anything good happens to us.

"James, duck!" Morgan shouts and I do so on instinct, just a wire shoots past my head and hits a tree about a meter away. I straighten up and grab the arm of the closest person to me and shove them forwards without stopping to check who it was, yelling at them to run.

"go, go, go! Run, Now go!" I yell, not running myself until i make sure that everybody is in front of me. We run through the streets of the town, ducking into alley ways when we can, shouts coming from behind us and every now and again, another piece of metal or a string of wire will hit the wall beside us.

"Go, Now go!" I say when I can hear them advancing on us. We get to a large bridge, one that crosses not a River but another town. On the other side of it, I see a huge city. Without slowing down, I mentally curse.

'we've only be on the move for three hours! there's no way we can be at the capital yet!' i want to shout, but instead I urge everybody to continue running. Suddenly, Nick stops in his tracks.

"Nick! What're you doing?!" Jaime screams

"Just go! I'll be right behind you!" He calls back, not taking his eyes off of the advancing soldiers. 

"Go, Go, Go!" I tell everyone else but then stop myself, standing beside Nick.

"James, I said go! I'll be right there!" He yells at me. I stare straight at him and shake my head.

"No. Not again." I growl and then throw my hands out in front of me, towards the soldiers. A sharp, bright light springs out and hits the first few lines of people, knocking them back.

"James!" Morgan shouts at me.

"Go, Morgan! We'll be right behind you!" Nick yells for me, drawing his two long knives as they get closer to us. I unsheath my own, wrapping my fingers tightly around the handles. My Fallen flows through the steel and lights up purple in streaks, electricity crackling around the blade.

Beth and I tried this once, and I'm not even sure if it will work properly. But, sure enough, the blade of the knife glows and crackles. I slice out in front of me and a streak of purple-blue electricity slices through three or four people, causing red stains to spread over their shirts and they fall to the ground. I flinch back at this, but then my own voice echoes in my head. 'hesitation will be the death of you!' and I take a step forwards, slicing again and again. Nick does the same, getting a few fatal hits in. Finally, I cut the last soldier to the ground.

"That was like an anime" I say stupidly and Nick just laughs at me. "Okay let's go" I say, sliding my knife away and cracking my knuckles. We fall into an easy jog and once we cross the bridge, we find the others waiting for us.

"Why did you stop?!" I demand, slowing to a stop. "Why did you wait?!"

Morgan only hugs me then, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist and burying her face in my chest. All my anger melts away and I run my fingers through her hair.

"That was so dangerous, James! So stupid... that was so stupid" She tries to be tough on me but her attempt falls flat as her voice cracks.

"You know me" I say jokingly and I lift her chin. Without thinking, without considering the consequences, I kiss her right there in front of everyone. "I was okay, I had Nick"

everybodies reactions are immediate. First I hear Jessicas childish squeal of delight, then Johns fake throwing up sound and then Michaels

"ew, dude. Cmon man that's my sister" and I laugh. Morgans face goes red and I kiss her again, this time a proper, long lasting and lingering kiss.

"Okay! Okay i get it I get it you can stop now! gross!" Michael whines, covering his face. I release Morgan and then adjust my bag.

"There's no way we could be in the capital now, we've barely been on the road for four hours" Harry says, repeating my thoughts from earlier.

"That bridge is a warp" Grace explains, checking over Nick and I quickly for injuries. "You think of where you want to go in Tarabeth and then you cross it. And on the other side, boom. Your destination."

 

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